WGN & Chicago Cubs Announce Replacement For Bob Brenly

This from WGN and the Chicago Cubs, Jim Deshaies who was with the Houston Astros as its analyst dating back to 1997, will join their broadcast booth for the 2013 season and beyond. Shortly after this past season, Cubs analyst Bob Brenly announced that he was leaving the Cubs booth after eight seasons with WGN-TV/Comcast SportsNet Chicago and becoming the analyst for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Deshaies, a former pitcher who spent most of his major league career with the Astros, will join Len Kasper on all Cubs TV broadcasts on WGN/WCIU and Comcast SportsNet.

We have the official announcement from WGN and the Chicago Cubs.

WGN-TV AND CHICAGO CUBS AGREE TO FOUR-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH JIM DESHAIES TO BECOME TELEVISION ANALYST FOR CHICAGO CUBS GAME BROADCASTS

CHICAGO, December 3, 2012 – WGN-TV and the Chicago Cubs are pleased to announce former Houston Astros broadcaster Jim Deshaies has agreed to a four-year agreement to join Len Kasper in the booth as the television analyst for Chicago Cubs game broadcasts on WGN-TV, Comcast SportsNet and WCIU-TV.

Deshaies, a former pitcher who spent most of his career with the Astros, joins the Cubs broadcast team after serving as an analyst for Houston since 1997.

“After spending the last 16 seasons with the Houston Astros, it will be a very tough organization and fan base to leave. However, I can’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather move than with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field,” said Deshaies. “My family and I look forward to meeting the great, passionate fans of the Cubs and we’re excited at what lies ahead in Chicago.”

“We’re very fortunate, along with our fan base, to welcome Jim as the next television analyst of the Chicago Cubs,” said Crane Kenney, president of business operations, Chicago Cubs. “Jim expressed an incredible appreciation for Cubs baseball, the history of Wrigley Field, the strength of our fan base, his predecessors in the broadcast booth and opportunity to carry the tradition forward. He is a student of the game who incorporates his firsthand knowledge, stories and humor into the broadcast, and we’re excited to see him in the booth with Len.”

“We look forward to sharing Jim’s knowledge and experience with Cubs fans across the country on WGN and in Chicago on Comcast. We know Len and Jim will have a great partnership in the broadcast booth,” said Steve Farber, acting general manager, WGN-TV.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Jim to our Cubs telecast team beginning in 2013,” said James J. Corno, president of Comcast SportsNet Chicago. “He and Len will make a terrific on-air duo Cubs fans will embrace for years to come.”

That will do it for this post.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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