![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/BNG-L-RITZO-03XX-6.jpg\")
<\/a>San Francisco Giants KNBR broadcaster Joe Ritzo in the booth at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (Jane Tyska\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\nSan Francisco and Arizona didn\u2019t bless Ritzo with a quick game. Despite pitch clocks and other methods to speed play, it ran over three hours. Immediately after the final out, Ritzo braved rush-hour traffic. His commute lasted two-and-a-half hours, but he arrived at Banner Island Ballpark in time for first pitch.<\/p>\n
For Ritzo, 41, the day was a microcosm of his career.<\/p>\n
Ritzo got his start as a student at Santa Clara University, working for the San Jose Giants in varying capacities and serving as the voice to multiple generations of prospects. And since 2023, Ritzo has become a fixture in the San Francisco Giants\u2019 broadcast rotation, a full-circle moment for the Palo Alto native who grew up rooting for the black and orange.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly exciting to just be part of the Giants broadcast family in any capacity,\u201d Ritzo said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to learn from some of the best to ever do it, and that energizes me the most. My job is to be ready and do my best wherever they need me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ritzo\u2019s broadcasting origins begin at San Jose Municipal Stadium, where he practiced broadcasting games from the bleachers as early as 9 years old.<\/p>\n
Ritzo knew at an early age that he wanted to be around baseball, but he wasn\u2019t sure how to turn his knowledge and love of the game into a career.<\/p>\n
As a freshman at Palo Alto High, Ritzo worked the scoreboard at Stanford\u2019s baseball games. He cozied up to the broadcasters over the years and when he was a junior, they let him call some innings here and there.<\/p>\n
Most of his broadcasting opportunities were on the road because he still had to operate the scoreboard at home. Ritzo traveled on his own dime, since he was not part of the traveling crew, but the broadcasters let him crash on the floor of their hotel rooms.<\/p>\n
Ritzo\u2019s first official broadcast was in April of 2001, when Stanford played USC. In 2001 and 2002, Ritzo flew to Omaha, Nebraska, to call the Cardinal\u2019s games in the College World Series, including the 2001 title game. Ritzo described himself as shy and quiet in childhood, but these opportunities brought him out of his shell.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing games only confirmed this is what I want to do,\u201d Ritzo said.<\/p>\n After graduating from Palo Alto High, Ritzo sent the San Jose Giants some of his Stanford broadcasts. At the time, San Jose only broadcast home games and relied on a rotating cast. Ritzo entered the fold and did five games that first season, but called about 50 games by the time he was about to graduate from Santa Clara.<\/p>\n Around that time, San Jose decided it wanted a full-time broadcaster. The Giants were already familiar with him and as Ritzo prepared for finals, the team offered him the position.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was plenty of hard work that I had to show to put myself in that position,\u201d Ritzo said, \u201cbut it was certainly the right place, right time.\u201d<\/p>\n Broadcasting was only one of Ritzo\u2019s many responsibilities with San Jose. He doubled as a member of the front office, where his daily responsibilities included \u2014 but weren\u2019t limited to \u2014 updating the website, writing game stories and game notes, working with the coaching staff and coordinating travel with bus companies. For Ritzo, 15-hour workdays that concluded around 2 or 3 a.m. were the rule, not the exception.<\/p>\n \u201cEarly on, he did everything,\u201d said Mark Wilson, the former San Jose Giants general manager. \u201cHe would do our preview of the series, he would do our postgame notes, and he would update our website. He did it all.\u201d<\/p>\n From 2007 to 2019, Ritzo broadcast nearly every San Jose Giants game. The list of future big-leaguers he covered included Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner and Brandon Crawford. He called three San Jose championships (2007, \u201809, and \u201810).<\/p>\n The work was taxing, but the opportunity to broadcast baseball made it all worth it for Ritzo.<\/p>\n<\/a>Joe Ritzo, center, was still a student at Palo Alto High school when he
\nmade his first official broadcast on April 20, 2001, joining Chad Goldberg for
\nStanford\u2019s game at USC.\u00a0 PHOTO COURTESY OF JOE RITZO<\/p>\n