Rene Cardenas obit

MLB broadcasting trailblazer Rene Cardenas dies

 

He was not on the list.

Rene Cardenas dies of cancer

HOUSTON – Rene Cardenas, the trailblazing baseball broadcaster who launched Spanish-language broadcasts for three Major League Baseball franchises, has died. The native of Nicaragua was 96 years old when he succumbed to cancer Sunday in Houston.

“Today, baseball lost a historic voice,” Astros Spanish-language broadcaster Francisco Romero said. “René Cárdenas passed away today at the age of 96, leaving behind an unforgettable legacy in Spanish-language sports broadcasting.

“His voice accompanied generations of baseball fans, especially through his legendary work with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Houston Astros.”

Astros Hall of Famer

Cardenas was nominated for the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s prestigious Ford Frick Award the last two years. In 2024, he was inducted into the Astros’ Hall of Fame.

“Rene was a true pioneer in our industry,” said Hall of Famer Jaime Jarrin, the legendary former Spanish voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “He played a predominant role in my start as a baseball broadcaster.

“I learned a lot from him and from Jose el Fat Garcia, both of the land of Ruben Dario. Rest in peace, my maestro and friend Chelito Cardenas.”

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Cardenas was born in Managua, Nicaragua. He was the grandson of former Nicaraguan President Adan Cardenas, who served from 1883-1887. He moved to the United States in his late teens. Shortly after the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1957, he pitched a Spanish-language broadcast to radio station KWKW AM.

With the support of then-Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, Cardenas started the first Spanish baseball broadcast in the United States in 1958.

Dodgers history

“I explained the plan to O’Malley,” Cardenas told Our Esquina’s Angel Cantu in 2024. “O’Malley said, ‘I love the idea. Of course we’ll do it. And maybe after these transmissions we can sign a Mexican pitcher.’”

That Mexican pitcher O’Malley longed for turned out to be the iconic Fernando Valenzuela decades later.

Along the way, Cardenas mentored Jarrin, who established himself as arguably the greatest Spanish-language broadcaster in MLB history after Cardenas moved to Houston to establish the Colt 45s-Astros franchise’s first Spanish broadcast.

He called games in Spanish for the Astros from 1962 through 1975 before returning to Los Angeles. Cardenas made no secret about his desire to earn the Ford Frick Award, but he was proud that the Astros finally put him into their Hall of Fame in 2024.

‘Astros all over me’

“I didn’t think it was going to happen to me, but it did,” Cardenas said in 2024. “In my 94 years it seems like it was when I joined the Colt 45’s in 1962 and it seems to me like it was yesterday when we played our first spring training game in Apache Junction.

“I have Astros all over me. I think I have Astros blood.”

Cardenas mentored many Spanish-language broadcasters over his lifetime, including Romero, the current Spanish voice of the Astros.

“René Cárdenas did more than call games,” Romero said. “He brought baseball to life. With passion, elegance, and a distinctive style, he helped pave the way for Spanish baseball broadcasting in the United States.

“He inspired countless broadcasters and became a beloved figure to millions of fans. His legacy will live forever in every broadcast, every unforgettable play, and every fan who grew up listening to his voice. Rest in peace, legend.”