George Lopez pays tribute to Dodgers broadcaster Jaime JarrÃn: He is ‘truly special’
Comedian George Lopez paid heartfelt tribute Wednesday to longtime Dodgers broadcaster Jaime JarrÃn, who is set to be honored this week in Los Angeles after announcing his retirement last year.
In a poignant essay for Variety, Lopez reflected on how JarrÃn’s Spanish-language broadcasts bolstered his love for baseball and helped bring his family closer. The longest-tenured broadcaster in Major League Baseball, JarrÃn will soon bid his final farewell to the Dodgers after 64 seasons.
“Jaime JarrÃn was your eyes and ears of a sport when you didn’t speak the language,†Lopez wrote. “He allowed you to understand it, he would tell you what he saw on the field and make you feel like you were there.â€
Jaime JarrÃn, who has been the Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcaster since 1959, announced that 2022 will be his final season behind the microphone.
The 61-year-old actor recalled attending his first game at Dodger Stadium as a kid with his grandparents, who “didn’t speak English well.†According to Lopez, everyone at the ballpark was listening to English-language broadcaster Vin Scully and Spanish-language broadcaster JarrÃn call the game via transistor radios.
“For me, hearing Jaime JarrÃn’s voice is equivalent to the smell of my grandmother’s cooking and the warmth of her kitchen,†Lopez continued.
“It’s a feeling that tells me I’m gonna be OK, no matter what else is going on. And like my grandparents, Jaime JarrÃn’s voice has been there for me my whole life. Funny thing is, I came to prefer listening to JarrÃn call Dodger games and my grandfather preferred to listen to Vin Scully. Back in the days when people thought that children should be seen and not heard, we didn’t talk much. But baseball was something we did together.â€
When Los Angeles Dodgers Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime JarrÃn announced this week that he would retire in 2022 after a 64-year career, the first thing Jose de Jesus Ortiz did was look through his phone.
Lopez is among countless baseball fans living in the United States and abroad who have come to know, love and depend on JarrÃn as “the Spanish voice of the Dodgers.†Later in life, the sitcom star has even gotten to know JarrÃn personally as a “truly special person†as well as a “talented broadcaster.â€
“He’s got a bit of royalty to him,†Lopez wrote. “He always speaks to everyone with a lot of respect no matter who you are, but there’s a humor and a warmth there that he gives you from the beginning.
“It’s not something that you ever feel like you have to earn with him. He takes you in, he puts his hand on your shoulder. He talks straight to you. That’s so unlike a lot of the men that I grew up around.â€
The Dodgers will give a warm sendoff to the Southern California icon Saturday during “Jaime JarrÃn night†at the stadium before facing off against the Colorado Rockies. Read Lopez’s full appreciation for the sports legend here.
Legendary Spanish broadcaster Jaime JarrÃn, who is retiring after this season, offers up his top Dodgers moments since they came to Los Angeles.
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