The Oakland Athletics made history this week by hiring the first female primary play-by-play voice in Major League Baseball.
Wednesday night, Jenny Cavnar jumped right into the booth to call a Warriors game on radio.
Jenny Cavnar 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.
Cavnar said, “Getting a job in San Diego was a dream, going home to Colorado where I was born and raised was a dream. 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.
She said, “Finding that drive in you and pushing you. 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.
McCauley said, “I have two young daughters, 13 and 15. 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.”
She said she’s had an amazing support system from the moment she arrived.
She has one piece of advice for Cavnar: to not be afraid to make mistakes.
McCauley said, “It’s not an easy job she’s about to do. 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.”
But with Cavnar’s success, she’s giving young girls hope that dreams can come true.
Cavnar said, “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.”
Andrea Nakano
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