Oakland A's new play-by-play announcer hits the ground running, credits those before her for opening doors
The Oakland Athletics made history this week when it was announced that Jenny Cavnar would be the first female primary play-by-play voice in Major League Baseball.
Wednesday night, a day after NBC Sports California announced Cavnar's hiring, she jumped right into the broadcast booth to call a Warriors game on the radio. Cavnar, who also has years of experience calling men's and women's college basketball games, has come a long way since taking a sports reporter job in San Diego. She's a creative storyteller, a polished pre and post-game show host, and now will be calling A's games on TV.
"Getting a job in San Diego was a dream, going home to Colorado where I was born and raised was a dream," said Cavnar. "And now this wasn't even on my radar 10 years ago, and it's here. I'm blown away."
Cavnar credits the many women she's worked with and followed along the way for opening doors in the sports world.
"Finding that drive in you and pushing you," said Cavnar. "There's just been so many people that I'm so grateful for and given strength in me that I don't know if I would've found on her own."
The Bay Area has set an example by hiring women in visible jobs in sports media. Janie McCauley is a sports writer for the Associated Press and came to the Bay Area in 2002.
"I have two young daughters, 13 and 15," said McCauley. "Every time something happens with Jenny or Amelia, the PA announcer, it shows my girls and girls everywhere that they can do whatever they want."
McCauley said she's had an amazing support system from the moment she arrived and has one piece of advice for Cavnar: don't be afraid to make mistakes.
"It's not an easy job she's about to do," said McCauley. "I'm so proud of her, she's going to shine but also know there may be some bumps in the road. We're all still learning."
With Cavnar's success, she's giving young girls hope that dreams can come true.
"The story is more of the fact that the next generation is going to have more opportunities because there's representation across the board, across sports, across women seeing themselves across roles and seeing what they can do," Cavnar said.