Steve Physioc retires as Royals TV, radio broadcaster; team announces replacement
Broadcaster Steve Physioc, who has been calling Royals games since 2012, has decided to retire, the team announced Thursday.
Physioc, who worked as a play-by-play man on the Royals Radio Network and Bally Sports Kansas City, had worked as a broadcaster in a 43-year career that began in Kansas.
Shortly after announcing Physioc’s departure, the Royals revealed his replacement: Jake Eisenberg, who had been broadcasting Triple-A Omaha games.
“We are excited to welcome Jake to our broadcast team and help share the Royals’ story,” Royals Senior Vice President/COO Brooks Sherman said in a statement. “Our great fans will appreciate his passion for the game and knowledge of our players. We’re thankful for Phiz’s invaluable work with us the past 11 seasons and congratulate him on a terrific career spanning six decades.”
Eisenberg, 27, also “worked approximately 40 games for the Mets on WCBS 880 in New York” during the 2022 season, the Royals said in a release. And Eisenberg called a pair of Royals games in May.
“It’s an honor to be part of the broadcast team that shares the stories of this new, exciting era of Royals baseball while also getting to sit next to and learn from a Hall of Famer in Denny Matthews,” Eisenberg said in a statement. “Being in Omaha the last couple of seasons was a great education on how special this organization is and how bright this team’s future is. I am thrilled and grateful for this opportunity, and eager to get started serving Royals fans in Kansas City and beyond.”
Steve Physioc retires as Royals broadcaster
After graduating from Kansas State, Physioc called Wildcats football and basketball games from 1979-83. He also was as sports anchor at WIBW-TV in Topeka during that time.
Physioc’s first taste of calling professional games began in Cincinnati, where he worked Bengals and Reds contests from 1983-86. He was a San Francisco Giants broadcaster in 1987-88 and then joined ESPN in 1989.
At ESPN, Physioc worked baseball, basketball and football games.
In 1996, Physioc was hired by the Los Angeles Angels and called play-by-play for Fox Sports West through the 2009 season.
In 2012, the Royals hired Physioc and his Angels partner Rex Hudler, and they’ve been in Kansas City ever since.
Physioc received a pair of World Series championship rings (one with the Royals and Angels), and still found time to write four historical fiction novels, as well as a children’s book with Hudler.
“We thank Phiz for his contributions the last 11 seasons and congratulate him on a tremendous career on the national and regional level, and we’re excited to welcome Jake to the Royals broadcast team,” said Bally Sports Kansas City General Manager and Senior Vice President Jack Donovan said in a statement.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 12:53 PM.
