After nearly 60 years in baseball, Buck Martinez is retiring from his post as Blue Jays broadcaster. Richard Lautens / Toronto Star via Getty Images
Few figures are more synonymous with the Toronto Blue Jays than Buck Martinez, an unmistakable voice for generations of Canadian baseball fans. But beginning this year, Martinez’s comforting commentary will be absent from Blue Jays games.
Following a 17-year playing career, a short managerial stint and over 4,000 games in the booth, the legendary broadcaster announced his retirement on Friday.
“I had hoped to be part of the 50th year of the Toronto Blue Jays,” Martinez, 77, said in a statement shared on X, “but it’s time to pass the torch. Enjoy 2026 and beyond, I will see you down the road.”
When Martinez began broadcasting as a postseason and All-Star Game colour commentator during his final playing seasons, his wife, Arlene, told him he sucked. Martinez, still catching for the Jays in the late 1980s, started working with a speech pathologist. Over two years, he learned how to finish his sentences and properly enunciate words. Still, Martinez never thought of broadcasting as the obvious evolution of his career.
“She said, ‘You’re trying to sound like Ted Knight on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’” Martinez recalled, laughing on the field during the 2024 season.
Nearly 40 years and two stints as a Blue Jays broadcaster later, Martinez departs as one of the most iconic voices in Canadian baseball history. His signature home run call — “a swing and a drive” — provided the backdrop for some of Toronto’s biggest home runs. Martinez earned multiple Sports Emmy Awards and, in 2023, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Jack Graney Award for his media contributions.
He first called Jays games in 1987, continuing until he spent 2001 and part of 2002 managing Toronto. After working from 2003-09 as a TV analyst for the Baltimore Orioles, he returned to the Jays booth for the next 16 seasons.
Martinez missed nearly three months of Toronto’s 2025 campaign while undergoing treatment for a recurrence of cancer that first arrived in 2022. He returned in August, honoured by saluting players and fans at Rogers Centre, and called every playoff game during the Jays’ run to Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.
More than the big moments or momentous games, Martinez flourished through his connections. Before each contest, his silver hair and dapper suit could be spotted lingering around home plate during batting practice, chatting with players and coaches. The trust and respect Martinez garnered gave him fresh stories and unique perspectives to share during each broadcast.
Martinez spent his first 17 seasons in MLB playing in the dirt around home plate, catching for three big league teams from 1969-86. Those few feet around home remained his favourite spot decades later.
“This is what I enjoy. Talking to the players on the field,” Martinez said in 2024. “My goal as a broadcaster is to bring something to the broadcast every night that nobody knew.”
Martinez’s full statement regarding his retirement, posted to X, follows:
It’s hard to believe I came to Toronto in a trade in May of 1981, thinking that would be the end of a very good career.
Little did I know that I still would be associated with the Blue Jays through the 2025 season.
What a glorious season it was. It was a joy and an honour to be involved in each and every game through Game 7 of the World Series. Only one other outcome could have topped the fantastic year.
After the World Series, my wife Arlene and I had plenty of time to think about the past and look forward to our future. After many heartfelt conversations, we both decided it was time for me to step out of the booth and enjoy the years ahead.
It has been a fantastic journey with Sportsnet, the Blue Jays and the wonderful Blue Jays fans all over the world.
Thank you all for embracing me and welcoming my family and me in a way that has made us feel like we are part of yours. I will dearly miss my working partners, the leadership at Rogers, and the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club, all of whom made it so much fun to be at the ballpark talking about the game I’ve loved for my whole life. As to the fans specifically, I will miss the “selfies,” the handshakes and the welcoming smiles. I will never forget any of those, nor the unwavering support and generosity, which has meant more than words can say. I look forward to continuing to root for the Blue Jays along with you, and you’ll always be in my heart. My sincere appreciation to all of you.
I had hoped to be part of the 50th year of the Toronto Blue Jays but it’s time to pass the torch. Enjoy 2026 and beyond, I will see you down the road.
