Chris Garagiola replaces Greg Schulte as Arizona Diamondbacks radio voice

Chris Garagiola will replace Greg Schulte as the second permanent radio play-by-play voice in Arizona Diamondbacks history starting in the 2024 season, the team announced Friday.

Over the past two seasons, Garagiola for the Diamondbacks Radio Network on Arizona Sports hosted the pre- and post-game shows and also shared in-game duties with Schulte, who was on the call for Arizona’s first 26 years as a franchise.

“First of all I should say, what an honor it is to be in this position, someone born here locally, grew up following the Diamondbacks, learned baseball through the Diamondbacks,” Garagiola said on Arizona Sports‘ Bickley & Marotta.

Garagiola previously spent time with the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos as broadcaster and attended Trinity University.

A Scottsdale native, Garagiola is part of a baseball family. His father, Joe Garagiola Jr., helped develop the Diamondbacks franchise in the Valley, serving as general manager from 1995-2005. Joe Garagiola Jr. currently holds the title of senior director of special projects.

Chris Garagiola’s grandfather, the late Joe Garagiola Sr., was a Hall of Fame catcher before landing in the broadcast booth, with 15 years on D-backs broadcasts as analyst.

Now, it’s his grandson’s turn.

“As Chris takes to the airwaves for the 2024 season, we are thrilled to have a familiar voice on D-backs radio,” Arizona Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall said. “Chris is the appropriate selection to take that seat in the radio booth and carry on the legacy of exceptional storytelling that Greg Schulte started 26 years ago.”

Greg Schulte retires as Diamondbacks radio voice, setting up Chris Garagiola’s turn

Schulte, the voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks since the team’s 1998 inaugural season, had set to retire at the end of the D-backs’ 2023 season. That extended as the club advanced to Game 5 of the World Series before falling to the Texas Rangers.

Before the final series of the regular season, the club had surprised the team’s longtime announcer by dedicating the radio booth to him.

Schulte called nearly 4,000 D-backs’ regular season and postseason games. He said it has been 26 magical years and singled out highlight moments such as Tony Womack’s game-winner in the 2001 NLDS, Luis Gonzalez’s walk-off hit to win the 2001 World Series, Randy Johnson’s perfect game and J.D. Martinez’s four-home run game in 2017.

Schulte said he initially planned to retire after the 2022 season, but cancer treatment caused him to miss too many games.

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