BOSTON — NESN, New England’s premier sports activities community, on Wednesday introduced the printed group for the 2025 Boston Purple Sox common season. NESN’s protection of the 2025 season will embrace in depth recreation protection plus hour-long pregame and postgame reveals. Sport recaps, highlights, and unique content material can even be accessible on the NESN 360 app, and the “310 to Left” podcast will probably be launched twice weekly on YouTube and throughout most main podcast platforms.
NESN’s broadcast sales space will encompass longtime main play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien, with Mike Monaco taking occasional play-by-play duties. Colour analysts within the sales space will embrace returning personalities and Purple Sox alumni Lou Merloni, Will Middlebrooks and Kevin Millar. Jahmai Webster will function sideline reporter.
The studio group will function returning main studio host Tom Caron. Adam Pellerin will contribute to host duties. Studio analysts will encompass returning personalities and Purple Sox alumni Lenny DiNardo, Deven Marrero and Jonathan Papelbon, and Jim Rice.
TOM CARON (@TomCaron) joined NESN in 1995 and has been a member of the NESN group for 30 years. For the previous 24 seasons, he has been a member of NESN’s Purple Sox broadcasts, serving because the community’s first baseball sideline reporter earlier than transferring into the function of host of the pregame and postgame reveals within the championship season of 2004. Caron served as studio host for Boston Bruins hockey between 1997 and 2004 and has been the play-by-play announcer for 2 of New England faculty hockey’s greatest tournaments: the Beanpot (for 20 years) and the Hockey East championship (27 seasons). Previous to NESN, Caron was the play-by-play voice of the Portland Pirates of the AHL and was inducted into the group’s Corridor of Fame in 2014. A nine-time New England Emmy Award winner, Caron has been awarded New England’s Favourite Native TV Sports activities Persona seven occasions by Channel Media Sports activities Analysis’s New England Sports activities Survey and was inducted into the Maine Sports activities Corridor of Fame in 2021. Caron is concerned in lots of native and regional charities, Co-Chairs the Dana-Farber Most cancers Institute’s Jimmy Fund and sits on the Board of Administrators of the Mass Mentoring Partnership and the MetroWest YMCA.
LENNY DINARDO (@DinardoLenny) returns for his ninth season on NESN after becoming a member of the community in 2017 as a pregame and postgame analyst. DiNardo was a pitcher for the Purple Sox and a member of the 2004 World Collection championship group. He additionally pitched for the Oakland Athletics and Kansas Metropolis Royals earlier than retiring from baseball in 2013.
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DEVEN MARRERO (@Dmarrero305) will probably be returning for his second season as a studio analyst for NESN. A local of Miami, Fla., Marrero performed baseball at Arizona State College and was drafted by the Purple Sox within the first spherical of the 2012 MLB Draft. He performed components of seven seasons within the main leagues, together with three seasons with the Purple Sox from 2015 to 2017. Along with the Purple Sox, he additionally frolicked with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins and New York Mets, earlier than retiring in 2023. Throughout his time with the Purple Sox, Marrero was an lively member of the group who was concerned with the Jimmy Fund, the Boston Youngsters’s Hospital, and Greatest Buddies.
LOU MERLONI (@LouMerloni) is in his third season with NESN as colour analyst within the NESN broadcast sales space. A local of Framingham, Mass., Merloni has been working within the media for 16 years, together with two years at NESN as a commentator on the Purple Sox pregame and postgame reveals and 14 years as an analyst for NBCSports Boston. Merloni additionally spent 9 years with WEEI within the Purple Sox radio sales space and 15 years as host of WEEI’s noon and afternoon drive speak reveals. He was drafted by the Purple Sox within the thirty sixth spherical of the 1992 MLB Draft. He performed his rookie 12 months in 1998 and hit a house run in his first at-bat at Fenway Park. Merloni performed 9 years within the MLB with the Purple Sox (six), Padres, Indians (two), and Angels. He additionally performed one 12 months in Japan for the Yokohama Baystars. Merloni spent two years taking part in within the Cape Cod Baseball League and is a member of the Cape Cod League Corridor of Fame. Merloni attended Framingham South Excessive College and graduated from Windfall Faculty. Whereas in faculty, he was named Rookie of the Yr within the Massive East and MVP of the Yr his senior 12 months with the Friars. He additionally earned the glory of being inducted into the Windfall Faculty Corridor of Fame.
WILL MIDDLEBROOKS (@Middlebrooks) is in his third season within the NESN broadcast sales space and fourth season as NESN pregame and postgame analyst. Middlebrooks additionally serves as a baseball analyst for CBS Sports activities HQ and is a co-host of the “WAKE and RAKE Podcast.” Chosen by the Purple Sox within the 2007 MLB Draft, Middlebrooks spent eight seasons within the group, together with the primary three of his six years within the majors. The Texas native burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2011, batting .288 with 15 house runs and 54 RBI in 75 video games. He was a key contributor to the 2013 World Collection championship group, serving because the group’s main third baseman. When the Purple Sox returned to play after the Boston Marathon in 2013, Middlebrooks tweeted, “I can’t wait to placed on my jersey right this moment! I get to play for the strongest metropolis on the market. #BostonStrong,” with the hashtag changing into a rallying cry for the season.
KEVIN MILLAR (@KMillar15) is in his fourth season as an analyst in NESN’s broadcast sales space. Millar has co-hosted “Intentional Speak” on MLB Community because the present’s inception in 2011. The 2004 World Collection champion spent three of his 12 main league seasons with the Purple Sox, batting .282 with 52 house runs and 220 RBIs in 432 video games for Boston from 2003-05. The previous first baseman and outfielder used “Cowboy Up!” as a rallying cry for the 2003 Purple Sox group that superior to the American League Championship Collection and had a vocal function in serving to the 2004 group overcome an 0-3 sequence deficit to the New York Yankees within the ALCS, finally profitable their first World Collection in 86 years.
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MIKE MONACO (@MikeMonaco_) joined NESN in 2020 and enters his fifth season for choose play-by-play video games. The Cohasset, Mass., native spent three seasons between 2017 and 2019 with the Pawtucket Purple Sox (Triple-A) and in addition broadcasts NHL for ESPN, plus faculty sports activities for ESPN and the ACC Community. Earlier than becoming a member of ESPN, Monaco broadcast faculty sports activities for FOX Sports activities and the Massive Ten Community and has additionally known as faculty basketball for NBC Sports activities. Monaco has known as choose video games for NBC Sports activities Chicago’s protection of the White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls. Monaco served as a broadcaster within the Cape Cod Baseball League (2013 and 2014) and for the Chicago Cubs’ (2015) and San Diego Padres’ (2016) Single-A associates within the Midwest League. The College of Notre Dame graduate has additionally served as a play-by-play broadcaster, reporter and host for his alma mater, together with nationally syndicated Notre Dame soccer reveals.
DAVE O’BRIEN enters his thirty fifth 12 months of Main League Baseball broadcasting and his tenth in NESN’s play-by-play function after 9 years with Purple Sox radio community. O’Brien additionally works for ESPN as a play-by-play announcer for its faculty basketball protection. Between 2002 and 2017 he served as a play-by-play commentator for ESPN, working Main League Baseball telecasts and faculty basketball. He has known as the LCS and World Collection for Main League Baseball’s Worldwide broadcasts, in addition to choose MLB playoff sequence on ESPN Radio. O’Brien labored as each a radio and tv announcer for the Florida Marlins between 1993 and 2001 and was the tv voice of the New York Mets on WPIX-TV between 2003 and 2005. He additionally did radio play-by-play on Atlanta Braves video games in 1990 and 1991 in addition to faculty soccer and basketball motion for the College of Georgia and College of Miami. A Boston native, O’Brien acquired the Georgia Related Press “Greatest Sports activities Play-by-Play” honor in 1988 and 1991 and the Achievements in Radio (A.I.R.) award for Greatest Play-by-Play for his name of Mark McGwire’s 59th house run in 1998. O’Brien and his household reside in Rye, N.H.
JONATHAN PAPELBON is returning for his third season as a pre and postgame analyst for the Purple Sox 2025 season. Papelbon initially joined NESN serving as a weekly contributor in 2021 remotely. The 12-year MLB veteran spent his first seven seasons with the Purple Sox, incomes 4 of his six All-Star alternatives with Boston. A member of the 2007 World Collection championship group, Papelbon recorded a save in all 4 video games of the Sox’s Fall Traditional sequence sweep towards the Colorado Rockies. His 219 saves in a Purple Sox uniform are a franchise report, along with his 368 profession saves rating ninth all-time. The Florida native additionally pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies (2012 to 2015) and Washington Nationals (2015 to 2016) following his time in Boston.
ADAM PELLERIN (@AdamPellerin) serves as a bunch for NESN’s pregame and postgame reveals. Pellerin fills quite a lot of completely different roles on the community together with internet hosting “NESN Clubhouse” and the “Final Purple Sox present.” The Mass. native joined NESN in 2012 after serving as common task reporter and fill-in anchor at FOX 25 for 5 years. His tv reporting profession started in Portland, Maine, at CBS affiliate WGME. Pellerin is a graduate of Suffolk College, the place he was the beginning catcher on the baseball group.
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JIM RICE is in his twenty third 12 months as a pregame and postgame analyst on NESN. In 2009, he grew to become the thirty second member of the Purple Sox to be elected into the Nationwide Baseball Corridor of Fame. Rice performed 16 seasons within the main leagues, all with Boston. The eight-time All-Star completed his profession with a .298 batting common, 382 house runs and 1,451 RBIs. Rice was voted the AL MVP in 1978 and helped lead the Purple Sox to 2 AL pennants (1975 and 1986). He ranks third behind solely Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski on the Purple Sox all-time leaders checklist in hits and complete bases, and fourth in house runs and RBI. Since retiring after the 1989 season, Rice has remained lively within the Purple Sox group, serving as a minor league hitting teacher between 1992 and 1994 earlier than becoming a member of the guardian membership as hitting coach between 1995 and 2000. He at present serves as a particular organizational teacher for the group.
JAHMAI WEBSTER (@WebsterOnTV) returns to the printed group for his eighth season as a Purple Sox sideline reporter. He joined NESN in October 2016 and served as an anchor/reporter on NESN’s sports activities information packages. He has additionally served as host of NESN’s award-winning and commercial-free Purple Sox pregame present for youths, “NESN Clubhouse,” which airs on Sundays 90 minutes earlier than recreation time. Earlier than becoming a member of NESN, Webster labored at Denver’s ABC affiliate KMGH Denver7 and KITV 4 Information in Honolulu. The Cal-State Northridge graduate obtained his begin in sports activities broadcasting at two ABC associates in central Texas, KRHD-TV 40 in Faculty Station and KXXV-TV 25 in Waco.
