Víctor Rojas
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Victor Manuel Rojas (born February 3, 1968) is an American baseball executive and former broadcaster. He currently serves as the president and general manager of the
Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...
. Rojas is best known for his time with the Los Angeles Angels as their play-by-play broadcaster from 2010–2020.Victor Rojas Official Bio on Los Angeles Angels Site
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Playing career

Rojas is the son of former major-league player and manager Cookie Rojas. Born in
Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
and raised in Overland Park, Kansas, Rojas graduated from
Blue Valley High School Blue Valley High School is a 9-12 public high school in Overland Park, Kansas, United States that was established in 1969. It is operated by Blue Valley USD 229. Academics In 1988, and again in 2012, Blue Valley High School was selected as a Blu ...
and later attended and played college baseball as a pitcher at Piedmont College (1988) Demorest, Georgia. Rojas played
college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
as a
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
and
catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California, and Lewis-Clark State College in
Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's north central region. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is ...
. He pitched in the
California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
minor league system in the early 1990s.


Coaching career

He was a member of the Florida Marlins baseball staff in 1993 serving as the bullpen catcher during the inaugural season. He was the pitching coach for the
Rio Grande Valley White Wings Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
of the independent Texas–Louisiana League in 1994.


Broadcasting career


Early jobs

Rojas was a radio and television announcer for the Newark Bears of the
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
Atlantic League for two years, and also served as the franchise's general manager. He worked as a broadcaster for
MLB Radio MLB Network Radio (formerly MLB Home Plate) is an American sports talk radio station on Sirius XM Radio that features Major League Baseball related talk shows, as well as archives and live reports about MLB and such. MLB Home Plate launched in Fe ...
in 2002 and 2003 on the All-Star Game and the Arizona Fall League. He moved up to the radio booth for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003.


Texas Rangers

He joined the Rangers in 2004, replacing
Vince Cotroneo Vince Cotroneo is a radio play-by-play announcer for the Oakland Athletics. He signed a two-year contract with the A's on January 13, 2006 to fill a void in the broadcast booth left by the sudden death of longtime lead announcer Bill King. Number ...
(now with the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
). Rojas worked with lead announcer Eric Nadel on all regular-season games and a number of
spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
games. He did
play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
for two pairs of the middle innings (3–4 and 6–7) and provided color commentary for Nadel during the other innings. He has worked multiple Rangers games on television as a fill-in announcer for regular play-by-play man Josh Lewin or color commentator
Tom Grieve Thomas Alan Grieve (born March 4, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1979 for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. He was nicknam ...
, and he has also appeared on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
.


MLB Network

Rojas was the first personality to appear on camera when MLB Network launched on January 1, 2009, serving as the first host on ''
Hot Stove ''Hot Stove'' is an offseason baseball talk show that airs on MLB Network and is simulcast on MLB Network Radio. The show offers the coverage of offseason activities including trades, free agent signings, and rumors. It is taped live in "Studi ...
'' (the Network's off-season studio show). Along with ''Hot Stove'', he appeared on '' MLB Tonight'', the network's signature nightly studio program. Rojas also called play-by-play for some of MLB Network's ''
Thursday Night Baseball ''Thursday Night Baseball'' is the de facto branding used for live game telecasts of Major League Baseball on Thursday nights. History ''USA Network Thursday Night Baseball'' (1979–1983) From 1979 to 1983, the USA Network broadcast Major Lea ...
'' telecasts.


Los Angeles Angels

On March 3, 2010, Rojas was named the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
's TV play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports West, succeeding Rory Markas who died in January and TV play-by-play announcer Steve Physioc and former Major League Baseball player and game analyst
Rex Hudler Rex Allen Hudler (born September 2, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball utility player and color commentator for the Kansas City Royals. He played a total of 14 seasons after being a first round draft pick of the New York Yankees in ...
, whose contracts expired after the 2009 season. He is partnered with color commentator
Mark Gubicza Mark Steven Gubicza (; born August 14, 1962), nicknamed "Gubie," is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sportscaster. Gubicza played for 14 major league seasons with the Kansas City Royals (1984–96) and Anaheim Angels (1997) ...
on the broadcasts. Rojas was hired by TBS to handle play-by-play duties for the
2011 NLDS Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''El ...
featuring the Arizona Diamondbacks and the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
. In 2019, Rojas and Gubicza won a
Los Angeles Emmy Award The Los Angeles Emmy Awards are presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) in recognition of excellence in the local programming of the Greater Los Angeles area. They are the only regional Emmys presented directly by the ATAS; a ...
for their broadcast of
Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine", ...
' 3000th hit. In November 2020, Rojas revealed that he had interviewed with the Los Angeles Angels for their vacant general manager position. The job eventually went to former
Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
assistant general manager
Perry Minasian Perry Minasian (born April 1980) is an American baseball executive. He is the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. He previously served as a scout and assistant general manager in the Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta B ...
. On January 9, 2021, Rojas announced via Twitter that he would be stepping away from broadcasting to focus on his family and apparel company. Matt Vasgersian would take Rojas' Spot.


Play calls

* "Oppo taco": Opposite field
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
* "Three-run jimmy jack": Three-run home run * "Big fly": A home run * "Light that baby up!": The call at the final out of an Angels win, referring to the halo on the 230-foot tall A outside of
Angel Stadium Angel Stadium of Anaheim is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California. Since its opening in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), and was also the home stadium to the Los Ange ...
that lights up when the Angels win. * "Drive home safely!": When the Angels have a walk-off win. *"Grand salami time!": When the Angels hit a grand slam. *”Big fly, Ohtani-san!”: Home run call for Japanese player Shohei Ohtani, making use of the Japanese honorific "''san''"


Executive career

On January 11, 2021, it was announced that Rojas had been hired by Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate
Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...
as their president and general manager.


Personal life

Rojas and his wife, Kim have three children. He and his family started a baseball apparel business in 2019 calle
Big Fly Gear
His father
Cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...
was an MLB player for 15 seasons and a manager for two. He is also in broadcasting, currently doing Spanish color commentary for the
Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...
. His brother
Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...
was the manager for the
Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...
, the Double-A affiliate to the
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
and is currently coaching in Mexico. Rojas and his family currently reside in
Trophy Club, Texas Trophy Club is a suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. When established in the 1970s, it was one of the earliest premier planned communities in Texas, built around the only golf course designed by Ben Hogan. It is located west of DFW Airpor ...
.


References


External links


Victor Rojas
Los Angeles Angels Official Bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Victor 1968 births Living people American people of Cuban descent American television sports announcers Arizona Diamondbacks announcers Lewis–Clark State Warriors baseball players Los Angeles Angels announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Minor League Baseball broadcasters Minor league baseball players MLB Network personalities People from Miami People from Overland Park, Kansas Texas Rangers (baseball) announcers