The San Diego Padres broadcast team of play-by-play man Don Orsillo and analyst Mark Grant has been selected for the second consecutive year as the best in Major League Baseball (MLB) by readers of Awful Announcing, a sports media website.
In its annual rankings of top MLB local broadcasters, the website said it received more than 85,000 individual votes from more than 9,300 respondents, which included a grade of 88.1% for either “A,” “B” and “C” grades and 52% of “A” votes for the Padres broadcasters.
“The champs stay the champs with a gaudy 88.1 of A-B-C grades,” Awful Announcing’s Sam Keely wrote. “San Diego’s booth, led by Don Orsillo and Mark `Mud’ Grant, continues to earn glowing reviews as baseball’s most joyful and entertaining duo. Orsillo’s signature play-calling paired with Grant’s goofy humor creates an infectious atmosphere every night.”
The website also said graders praised them for being “entertaining and insightful regardless of the score,” with many flatly declaring them “the best and it’s not close.”
Voters also noted that Orsillo “consistently elevates the broadcast,” making routine regular-season games “feel like events,” the website said.
“Don and Mud are the perfect mix of baseball acumen, fun and random humor that bring joy to the game,” wrote one voter, according to the site. “And Tony Gwynn Jr. continues to improve while Scanlan and others do great work.”
The Padres TV broadcast team also includes Jesse Agler, Tony Gwynn Jr., Bob Scanlan and Mariluz Cook.
“Our Padres TV and radio broadcasters continue to set the standard across Major League Baseball, and we are incredibly proud to see them recognized as the No. 1 broadcast team for the second consecutive season,” Erik Meyer, VP of broadcasting and entertainment, told Times of San Diego.
“This recognition is a testament to their exceptional talent as broadcasters, the entertainment and insight they bring to every game, and the genuine connection they’ve built with Padres fans throughout San Diego and beyond.”
Grant has been a Padres broadcaster since 1996, while Orsillo moved over to the Padres from the Boston Red Sox ahead of the 2016 season. Awful Announcing said disgruntled Red Sox fans voted for the Padre announcers and praised Orsillo, lamenting his end in Boston.
Founded in 2006, Awful Announcing reports on sports broadcasting, along with media-related news and interviews. The results of the vote can be found in full here.
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Jack in the Box adds collectibles to its 75-year anniversary celebration
San Diego-based Jack in the Box, Inc. (JITB), as part of the hamburger chain’s current, year-long 75th anniversary celebration, has introduced a new line of collectible items, including glass sipper cups shaped like the mascot’s head, a keychain-style clip meant to hook onto a bag and small plush toys that are consuming tacos and a shake.
The collectibles, available with the purchase of a meal, are reminiscent of the legendary small plastic balls consisting of mascot Jack’s head that motorists stuck on the top of their car’s radio antenna launched in the mid-1990s. Jack’s noggin currently also towers over Petco Park atop the right field foul pole.
Sheena Dougher, VP of brand marketing at Jack in the Box, told Marketing Brew, an advertising industry trade news outlet, the JITB collectibles provide a way to elevate a customer’s food purchase.
“People want more for their money, and it goes beyond the food,” she said. “They want experiences from brands.”
Dougher also said the collectibles offer customers a game where they’re on the hunt to collect all of them, as well as appealing to a “kidult” (kid-adult) audience who wants experiences that reminds them of their childhoods.
Marketing Brew’s Kristina Monllos said collectibles is one way marketers can often cut through the noise and increase customer traffic. Examples include movie theaters with specialty popcorn buckets, Starbucks’ Bearista, a collectible glass cold cup shaped like a teddy bear, and Trader Joe’s $2.99 mini canvas totes available in blue, red, green and yellow.
Founded in 1951, JITB (NASDAQ: JACK), one of the nation’s largest hamburger chains, operates 2,218 restaurants across 24 states, Guam and Mexico.
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San Diego’s Team Lewis office announces AI Practice
The San Diego office of Team Lewis, a global marketing agency with 27 offices worldwide, has launched AI Practice, a service that uses artificial intelligence (AI) resources to benefit clients.
The practice will help emerging AI companies translate complex technologies into clear, credible market narratives that drive growth, the agency said.
A Team Lewis statement said the services include:
- Brand strategy, positioning, PR/media relations and executive thought-leadership programs to turn technical complex value into easy-to-understand authority;
- Campaign strategy, creative, content systems, social, web, SEO and paid amplification that puts a consistent story in front of the right buyers;
- Executive visibility, customer evidence, partner storytelling, community building and reputation-crisis readiness that strengthens credibility under scrutiny and turns customers into advocates.
“AI companies don’t have a visibility problem, they have a clarity problem,” said Danielle Malvesti, VP of strategy with Team Lewis. “The market is saturated with general AI claims, but buyers are looking for proof, perspective and practical impact. Our AI Practice is built to help companies tell sharper stories, earn trust faster and turn innovation into influence.”
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in London, Team Lewis operates offices throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. Team Lewis offices in the U.S. are located in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and San Diego. Team Lewis’ San Diego office is located at One America Plaza, 600 West Broadway, Downtown San Diego.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly in Times of San Diego.
