Giants Hire Glen Kuiper to Call Spring Training, Regular Season Games

The San Francisco Giants probably have some of the best broadcasting depth in baseball. On Thursday they controversially added to it with Glen Kuiper.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser (subscription required) reported that Kuiper will call 10 to 15 regular season games for the team in 2026, which marks his return to a Major League television booth after three years out of the game. He is expected to call radio games.

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He will also call some spring training games for the team, including their exhibition game against Team USA next week. The hiring adds to an already deep broadcasting bench and reunites him with family that already work for the team.

Glen Kuiper Returns to Broadcasting

The San Francisco Giants logo on the sleeve of a jersey. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Glen Kuiper was the long-time play-by-play announcer for the Athletics while they were in Oakland, serving with the franchise for 21 years. In 2023, while broadcasting a game in Kansas City, he used a racial slur on air while he was describing his visit to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which is in Kansas City. That led to his dismissal.

In a statement to the Chronicle, Rachel Heit, the Giants’ chief marketing officer, said that he took “full responsibility” for making the statement.

Kuiper has been away from the microphone since, but he’s remained in the Bay Area. He’s the brother of Duane Kuiper, who is the Giants’ television play-by-play voice. Their brother, Jeff, has been part of the TV production team since the late 1980s.

It’s not unusual for teams to rotate their announcing teams during the season to keep announcers fresh, account for vacations and other assignments. For instance, the Giants rotate two play-by-play voices on the radio in Jon Miller and Dave Flemming. The latter is currently calling college basketball games for ESPN alongside analyst Sean Farnham. Miller was the long-time television voice for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball while he worked for the Giants and, before that, the Baltimore Orioles.

National audiences might get a look at the Giants’ impressive broadcast teams during the season. NBC and Peacock are reportedly going to use local announcing crews for its Sunday Night Baseball games, which would put the spotlight on the TV crew.

San Francisco will open the regular season at home against the New York Yankees on March 25. That game will be broadcast on Netflix with a play-by-play crew to be announced. Elle Duncan is expected to present the pre-game and post-game shows. The Giants’ first local television broadcast is set for March 27 on NBC Sports Bay Area, which broadcasts all local broadcasts.