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River Cats Announcer Makes His Big League Debut

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – It's every minor league baseball players dream, to be called up to The Show. Even if you're not on the field, getting the call to big leagues is exciting.

And it's happening for a member of the Sacramento River Cats. CBS reporter Kim Coyle reports on Cats play-by-play announcer Johnny Doskow, who some would call a career minor leaguer, as he steps up to the mic in the majors. Doskow will temporarily replace Oakland A's announcer Ken Korach as he recovers from surgery.

"I held it together pretty nicely until he said you might go to Fenway and then I got choked up. I got choked up for about 45 seconds to a minute," Doskow said.

Doskow, a New York native, has broadcast over 3,000 minor league baseball games in his 19 year career.
For the past 11 years, he been calling the plays for the Sacramento River Cats, the triple A minor league team for the Oakland A's.

After years of traveling by bus for the minor leagues, Doskow is looking forward to a change of scenery. "Vince told me, 'I don't have to go all Hoosiers on you. It's still 60 feet 6 inches. It's still 90 feet. You call 6-4-3 double plays all the time. You can do it up there," said Doskow.

You really know you've made it when you have your own Bobble-nose night.

"I'm not really sure why they picked that particular appendage on my face. I have no idea. It might be a little large," explained Doskow. "Yeah, June 22nd they're doing bobble-nose here where the nose bobbles, like a bobble head but the nose actually bobbles. I saw the blueprint and the nose is way too small." I was disappointed."

Doskow will fill in until Korach returns which is expected to be sometime in April.

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