Melanie Newman Makes Orioles History As First Female Game Broadcaster
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Orioles broadcaster Melanie Newman made history Tuesday night as the first female broadcaster in franchise history to call play-by-play for a regular-season game.
Newman also became just the fourth active female game broadcaster in Major League Baseball, joining Suzyn Waldman, of the New York Yankees, Jessica Mendoza, of ESPN, and Jenny Cavnar, of the Colorado Rockies.
She also became the fourth woman to handle play-by-play duties for a Major League Baseball game in 28 years following the debuts of Waldman (1992), Gayle Garnder (1993) and Cavnar (2018).
Newman joined the Orioles from the Carolina League's Salem Red Sox, the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, where she served as the lead broadcaster on baseball's first all-female broadcast team.
Newman previously held various roles with the Frisco RoughRiders, the Texas Rangers Double-A affiliate, and the Mobile BayBears, the Double-A affiliate for the Arizona Diamondbacks, including play-by-play announcer, reporter and host.
She has also covered Liberty University football as the team's sideline reporter, and has reported various sports for the ACC Network, ESPN, GameDay Radio and Major League Baseball Data Operations.