Longtime MLB broadcaster John Sanders dead at 83

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Credit: WKYC Channel 3 via Cleveland Indians

Longtime baseball play-by-play commentator John Sanders has died.

Sanders grew up in Kansas, getting his start at WIBW-TV in Topeka. He then moved to KMBC-TV in Kansas City. At KMBC, Sanders worked Kansas City Chiefs preseason telecasts from 1970-75.

In 1978, Sanders moved to KDKA-TV as the weekend sports anchor. He eventually became the station’s sports director.

While at KDKA, Sanders joined the Pittsburgh Pirates broadcast team alongside Lanny Frattare in 1981. Sanders worked Pirates games until 1989.

Sanders’s longest play-by-play stint came with the Cleveland Indians from 1991-2006. It was there that his home run call became famous: “To the warning track… to the wall…. It’s gone!”

Cleveland did not renew Sanders’s contract following the 2006 season. That would be the last time Sanders called MLB games, though he continued to work Big East college basketball broadcasts afterward.

Tributes to Sanders poured in on social media, including from the Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland radio host Anthony Lima, and former basketball broadcast partner Chris Shovlin.

The Cleveland Guardians mourn the loss of longtime sportscaster, John Sanders who served as a play-by-play announcer for Cleveland from 1991-2006. pic.twitter.com/lS9LJPFCJ3

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 11, 2026

RIP to John Sanders. Called most of those epic 90s moments on the TV side that are seared into my brain.

Also, that Sportschannel logo still the GOAT of TV logos. https://t.co/RgweZ2bmSwpic.twitter.com/snBrsoS8LO

— Anthony Lima (@SportsBoyTony) June 11, 2026

Remembering John Sanders…a multi-sport broadcast talent and true pro. Honored to have been partnered with John on @Xfinity / @comcast Sports over several seasons. @KDKA@Pirates@espn@CleGuardians etc… pic.twitter.com/o47HagVNxh

— Chris Shovlin (@chrisshovlin) June 11, 2026

John Sanders was 83.

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