Baltimore Orioles: Broadcaster Joe Angel retires after 19 years with O’s

Longtime play-by-play man Joe Angel is stepping down from his post after spending nearly two decades calling games for the Baltimore Orioles

We know Joe Angel as the voice of the Baltimore Orioles. From waving home-runs ‘bye-bye’, to getting the O’s in the win column, Angel has spent 19 of his 42 years in the broadcast booth with the Orioles.

Unfortunately for Orioles’ fans across the country, Angel has decided to step down just as the O’s are getting their extensive rebuild underway.

On Thursday’s edition of “The Hot Stove Show” on 105.7 The FAN, Angel announced that he’s bringing his broadcasting career to a close. You can hear the full audio via this link.

During the show, Angel said of his retirement, “I’m looking forward to it. I don’t know what it feels like yet, but I can’t wait to find out”.

I’m as happy as I can be that Joe will be able to relax, and have time to do whatever it is that retired people do, from working on his golf game, to spending time at the beach.

But as an Orioles fan, I can’t say I’m too excited to spend the upcoming season without that familiar voice. Joe Angel brought something special to Orioles’ broadcasts and it’ll be missed in the upcoming seasons.

Angel’s retirement comes just two years after his partner Fred Manfra stepped away from the broadcast booth, and it’ll bring to a close an exceptional run for Orioles fans who were lucky enough to listen to them work.

The plan going forward seems to be to have some combination of MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski, Ben McDonald, and Brian Roberts, along with what’ll likely turn out to be a handful more candidates handle the Orioles’ radio calls.

We all have favorite broadcasters (and probably least favorite, while we’re at it), but for me, Joe was near the top. He was an intelligent guy who could keep you interested in the game, and he was someone you didn’t mind essentially hanging out with for a few hours a day.

It’ll be strange getting used to listening to O’s games without Joe’s signature voice, but if you think about it, there might not be a better time to get a new voice in the studio. New front office, new leadership…new broadcast team. It fits.

There’s a new era starting in Baltimore; Joe’s legacy will live on but like the Orioles, we’re moving forward into 2019 with a clean slate.