You might think having to slog through a 119-loss season on the radio would be bad enough. But for Colorado Rockies broadcaster Jerry Schemmel, the worst news came Tuesday, as he announced that he had been laid off for the second time in six years from the role.
“It seems incredibly unfair,” he told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders Tuesday. “I gave my heart and soul to those broadcasts and felt like I was completely prepared every night, and hopefully sounded OK.”
The 65-year-old said he was aware that his situation could be changing.
“I wasn’t completely shocked by the phone call, as I knew other layoffs were happening in Denver,” Schemmel told the Post. “But a little surprised because I was making only 25% of the salary I was making when they let me go the first time.”
An Unusual Arrangement For Schemmel
Schemmel is one of the few play-by-play broadcasters who was not employed by the team they broadcast. Instead, his employment came from the team’s flagship radio partner, iHeartMedia. Rockies games air on 850 KOA, a 50,000 watt clear-channel station owned by the media conglomerate. The station also broadcasts Denver Broncos and Colorado Buffaloes games.
He joined Rockies broadcasts in 2010 following the retirement of original broadcaster Jeff Kingery. Schemmel and partner Jack Corrigan worked together for ten seasons until Schemmel was laid off by iHeartMedia in January of 2020.
After missing the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Schemmel was brought back to replace Mike Rice after he would not get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Post. He partnered again with Corrigan for the last four seasons.
Schemmel says the decision by iHeartmedia won’t keep him from moving forward with his next chapter. “I know life is unfair,” he told the Post. “It’s unfair for the others who got laid off, both in Denver and across the country. Like I tell people in my motivational speaking, ‘When you get knocked down, you gotta get back up.’ Which I will do.”
Hear T.J. Rives with me discussing this puzzling lack of loyalty by the Rockies/KOA radio for their broadcaster on the newest “Last Word On Sports Media” podcast by clicking play below,
KOA program director Dave Tepper declined comment on Schemmel’s departure, and would not tell the Post whether Schemmel would be replaced on the broadcast.
Prior to his time with the Rockies, Schemmel broadcasted Denver Nuggets games on the radio for 18 seasons. He also worked as a football and basketball broadcaster for Colorado State and Northern Colorado.
