Dewayne Staats
{{Infobox baseball biography |name = Dewayne Staats |image = Dewayne Staats 2009.jpg |image_size = 200px |caption = Staats in 2009. |team = Tampa Bay Rays |position = Broadcaster |birth_date = August 8, 1952 |birth_place = Advance, Missouri, U.S. |bats = |throws = |debutleague = |debutdate = |debutyear = |debutteam = |finalleague = |finaldate = |finalyear = |finalteam = |statleague = |stat1label = |stat1value = |stat2label = |stat2value = |stat3label = |stat3value = |teams = As Broadcaster
|highlights =
Dewayne Staats (born August 8, 1952) is a sports broadcaster who has been the television play-by-play commentator for the Tampa Bay Rays since they began play in 1998. He is currently teamed with color commentator Brian Anderson.
Staats has been a broadcaster for several teams over his 30+ year career.
Staats was born in Advance, Missouri and moved at some point in his youth to Wood River, Illinois, near St. Louis. Staats regularly listened to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball broadcasts, featuring Harry Caray and Jack Buck. He graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) in 1975 with a degree in Mass Communications. He began his broadcasting career reporting sports on WSIE, the SIUE radio station; as an announcer for high school sports on several of the nearby small town radio stations; and as an intern at KMOX in St. Louis.
Staats began announcing professional baseball with the Oklahoma City 89ers (1973–74) while still a student at SIUE. After graduation, he was sports director at KPLR-TV in St.Louis (1975–76), then he worked for the Houston Astros (1977–84), Chicago Cubs (1985–89), New York Yankees (1990–94), and ESPN (1995–97) before joining the Rays in their 1998 inaugural season.
...
Wikipedia