Longtime Major League Baseball broadcaster John Sanders, whose play-by-play career included lengthy runs with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians, has died at the age of 83, as relayed by Awful Announcing.
Videos by FanBuzz
Sanders spent decades behind the microphone and became a familiar voice to baseball fans in both Pittsburgh and Cleveland.
A Kansas native, Sanders began his broadcasting career at WIBW-TV in Topeka before moving to KMBC-TV in Kansas City. During his time there, he worked Kansas City Chiefs preseason telecasts from 1970-75.
He later joined KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh in 1978 as a weekend sports anchor and eventually became the station's sports director.
The Cleveland Guardians mourn the loss of longtime sportscaster, John Sanders who served as a play-by-play announcer for Cleveland from 1991-2006. pic.twitter.com/lS9LJPFCJ3
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 11, 2026
Sanders joined the Pirates' broadcast team in 1981 alongside Lanny Frattare and remained in that role through the 1989 season.
His longest tenure came in Cleveland, where he called Indians games from 1991-2006. During that stretch, Sanders became known for his signature home run call: "To the warning track ... to the wall ... it's gone!"
The Indians, now known as the Cleveland Guardians, did not renew Sanders' contract following the 2006 season. He later continued his broadcasting career by calling Big East college basketball games.
Following news of his death, tributes poured in across social media from the Guardians, Cleveland radio host Anthony Lima and former broadcast partner Chris Shovlin.
Sanders is remembered as one of the most recognizable baseball voices of his era and a broadcaster whose career spanned more than four decades.
