Matt Vasgersian

Matthew Edward Vasgersian (born September 28, 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a host for the MLB Network and has served as an announcer for NBC Sports' coverage of the Olympics, and on Fox Sports' MLB coverage. He formerly called play-by-play for the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres.

Early life and career
Vasgersian started his media career as a child actor. A member of the Screen Actors Guild at age seven, he appeared in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco and the movie The Candidate. A native Californian of Armenian descent, Vasgersian graduated from Campolindo High School in Moraga, California and the University of Southern California where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. While a student at USC, he appeared on The New Dating Game, winning a trip to Telluride, Colorado.

Major League Baseball
Vasgersian has worked in baseball since 1991, starting with a six-year stint in the Minor Leagues as a play-by-play announcer. He began his career as a sportscaster with the Chicago Cubs Rookie league affiliate in Huntington, West Virginia on radio station WKEE-AM 800 and was the voice of the High Desert Mavericks (Seattle Mariners affiliate) on radio station KAPL. He moved up the minor league baseball ranks over the next several years, working for various clubs in a number of different organizations, ending with the AAA Tucson Toros in 1996.

Vasgersian was 29 years old when he became the play-by-play voice for the Milwaukee Brewers, where he stayed for five years before filling the same role for the San Diego Padres. Vasgersian was with the Padres for seven seasons when it was announced he would be joining MLB Network.

On November 1, 2008, during a broadcast of the San Diego CIF High School Football Game of the Week, Channel 4 announced that Vasgersian would not be returning as a Padres announcer for the 2009 season, having chosen to pursue other opportunities. Later that week, it was reported that Vasgersian had signed a deal with MLB Network to become the network's first studio host.

MLB Network
Vasgersian has been a studio host at MLB Network since its debut on January 1, 2009, appearing regularly in-studio and on-site at the All-Star Game and World Series on MLB Tonight, the network's Emmy Award-winning live nightly studio show, as well as “Quick Pitch,” “The Rundown,” the offseason studio show "Hot Stove," MLB Network’s Spring Training series 30 Clubs in 30 Days, and MLB Network's first-ever game show Baseball IQ. Throughout the MLB regular season, Vasgersian calls play-by-play for MLB Network’s Thursday Night Baseball game package. He called Game 2 of the 2012 ALDS between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics on October 7.

Other ventures
Vasgersian first gained national prominence doing play-by-play for the XFL football league in 2001. From 2006-2008, Vasgersian had been a regular on Fox NFL telecasts, teaming with J.C. Pearson. In previous years, he had done select games for the network. Vasgersian's football seasons have culminated with calling the 2007 Orange Bowl and the 2008 and 2009 Fiesta Bowl for the BCS on Fox. He also has done regional MLB telecasts for the Fox Game of the Week, teaming with a variety of analysts, and also lent his voice for NBC's broadcast of the 2006 Winter Olympics by being the play-by-play announcer for the ski jumping event. Vasgersian also called USC Trojans men's basketball. He has hosted several TV shows, including the game show Sports Geniuses (2000), Game Show Network's World Series of Blackjack (2004), and Celebrity Blackjack (2004), the National Heads-Up Poker Championship on NBC and the first season grand final of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. He has also emceed various sports specials and other programs, such as the International World Championships of Rock Paper Scissors (2004).

Vasgersian has also worked on an Ultimate Fighting Championship broadcast, filling in for Mike Goldberg, the usual announcer. Goldberg was working on Fox Sports Net's college football telecast on the night of UFC 56, so Vasgersian provided play-by-play alongside regular color commentator Joe Rogan.

Vasgersian is the commentator in every installment of MLB: The Show since its debut in 2006 with Dave Campbell, Eric Karros, Steve Lyons and formerly Rex Hudler. In addition to his work on MLB '06 through MLB '13, Vasgersian was the "host" for several PS1 Sony sports titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, specifically for 989 Studio sports games.

Vasgersian served as a host for NBC Sports coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2010 Winter Olympics. Vasgersian is also a regular feature on the Dave & Carole morning show at 96.5 WKLH in Milwaukee. Vasgersian is the new host for the MLB on Fox pre-game show as of 2012.

Matt is also a recurring satirical commentator in Hamish and Andy's Gap Year.