Rick Rizzs

Richard Alfred Rizzs (; born November 17, 1953) is an American sportscaster and is the lead radio play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball. He is the longest-tenured broadcaster in franchise history, working alongside broadcasters Dave Niehaus, Dave Sims, Aaron Goldsmith, and many color commentators. Rizzs will be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2027. He also was a broadcaster for the Detroit Tigers for three seasons and some Ohio State Buckeyes football games for two seasons.

Early life Rizzs grew up in Calumet Park, Illinois, and attended Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Illinois. He graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1975. He played junior varsity baseball for the Southern Illinois Salukis as a second baseman, declining the chance to play for the varsity team his senior season to focus on broadcasting.

Growing up, Rizzs idolized two future Baseball Hall of Famers, Chicago White Sox shortstop Luis Aparicio and Chicago Cubs announcer Jack Brickhouse.

Broadcast career In college, Rizzs was an announcer for the Salukis for WCIL-AM as the baseball team played in the 1974 College World Series. He also broadcast football and basketball games. With the Gold Sox, he had to broadcast road games from an Amarillo studio, inventing balls and strikes counts and using sound effects to recreate hits and crowd noise.

Major League Baseball In 1983, Rizzs began broadcasting Mariners games, sharing play-by-play and color commentor roles with Dave Niehaus. Harwell's dismissal was not popular with fans. Niehaus encouraged Rizzs to seek for the Tigers job.

Rizzs returned to the Mariners in 1995. In 2000, Rizzs was named the Chicago-area sportscaster of the year by the Chicago Pitch and Hit Club.

After Niehaus died in November 2010, Rizzs became the Mariners lead radio voice. During the 2011–2012 seasons, Rizzs broadcast Mariners games with a rotation of guest color commentators, including former Mariners players Dan Wilson, Dave Valle, and Jay Buhner as well as former Mariners announcers Ron Fairly, Ken Wilson, and Ken Levine.

In January 2013, Rizzs was paired on the radio with Aaron Goldsmith, formerly of the Pawsox Radio Network. Goldsmith did the play-by-play for the third, sixth, and seventh innings, as well as even innings when games reached extra innings. In 2017, Rizzs received the Keith Jackson Award from the Seattle Sports Commission. In 2019, he was inducted into the Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

In February 2025, the Mariners announced that Rizzs would be the team's lead radio announcer, with Goldsmith providing the television play-by-play.

On January 27, 2026, Rizzs announced that he would retire from broadcasting after the 2026 season. On August 8, Mariners CEO John Stanton announced during a pre-game ceremony that Rizzs would be inducted into the Mariners Hall of Fame in 2027. Broadcasting style Early in his broadcasting career, Rizzs was known for being excitable while calling a game.

Catchphrases Rizzs is noted for using the following catchphrases on Mariner broadcasts:

"Goodbye baseball!"- used on home run calls. "Holy smokes! A laser beam strike from Ichiro." - Ichiro Suzuki's outfield assist on Terrence Long in 2001, later dubbed "The Throw". "And now, one strike away from baseball history. Hernández looks in, the windup and the 2–2 pitch, strike three called. Félix Hernández pumps his arms in the air!" - ending Félix Hernández's perfect game. Cal Raleigh's walk-off home run to clinch a berth in the 2022 MLB postseason. "The modern day Bambino" - following Raleigh's 60th home run in the 2025 season. "The Mariners are gonna play for the American League championship! The Mariners win the Battle in Seattle in 15 innings" - following Jorge Polanco's walk-off single to end the 2025 American League Division Series. Eugenio Suárez's go-ahead grand slam in Game 5 of the 2025 American League Championship Series. Rizzs has been divorced twice. In November 2024, Rizzs launched Rick's Locker, which provides sporting equipment and gear to children.

Rizzs provided the commentary for the 2005 GameCube video game Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball, but the game was canceled.

Ailments In 1983, Rizzs participated in a Girl Scout Cookies eating contest in a Columbus shopping mall. The next day, after feeling chest pains, he was hospitalized, which delayed an in-person interview with Mariners owner George Argyros about the team's play-by-play . In December 2022, Rizzs was diagnosed with grade 1 prostate cancer. In July 2023, Rizzs was involved in an all-terrain vehicle accident in which he suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck, two fractured vertebrae in his back, a fractured rib, and cuts on his head and ear. His son extricated him from the overturned vehicle.