Whitecaps New Radio Team Announced

COMSTOCK PARK, MI - The West Michigan Whitecaps have hired Dan Hasty as the new radio play-by-play announcer for the Whitecaps. 

A native of Sterling Heights, MI, Hasty has most recently been heard on air at 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit for the past four years as sports anchor and talk show host. He has also served as the official network studio host of the Detroit Lions and served in various roles on Detroit Tigers and Red Wings broadcasts. Hasty also has a background in Minor League Baseball, having served as the broadcast and media relations assistant for the Great Lakes Loons from 2007 to 2009. He was also the play-by-play broadcaster for the independent Traverse City Beach Bums in 2011.

Hasty replaces Ben Chiswick, who handled the play-by-play for five seasons before leaving the state to be closer to family. In addition to his play-by-play role, Hasty will handle the baseball-related media relations duties, including press releases regarding player transactions, handling interview requests and writing game day notes for the media. He will join the organization in late March.

"It's hard to put into words how much this job means to me," Hasty said. "I didn't want a job with just any Minor League team; I specifically wanted to be with the Whitecaps. This organization has such a great reputation in the industry. To say that it's special to be hired by the Whitecaps is underplaying it for me; this is a dream come true."

Hasty will be joined in the Whitecaps booth by local radio veteran Ryan Schuiling, who will provide color commentary for Whitecaps home games while keeping his day job as morning sports talk show host on WBBL 107.3 FM. Schuiling replaces Dan Elve, who provided color commentary for the previous 10 seasons.

Whitecaps Vice President Jim Jarecki said Hasty rose to the top of the pool of more than 100 applicants vying for the broadcasting position.

"The goal was to hire someone who could carry on the Whitecaps tradition of providing top notch play-by-play action while instilling the entertainment and promotional aspects that we have all come to cherish," Jarecki said. "Dan's talents and personality, both on and off the air, continued to rank him as a top candidate throughout the interviewing process. His experience in previous seasons with Great Lakes and Traverse City, and subsequently the last four years in the Detroit market, have only strengthened his passion for the game and broadcast. Just hang out with him for 15 minutes and you will feel that excitement, anticipation, and passion of coming to the ballpark-Opening Day can't come soon enough. 

"Adding Ryan Schuiling to the broadcast team will enhance the game broadcast as he brings his knowledge of the Whitecaps and Tigers to the fans."

The Whitecaps and WBBL Sports 107.3 FM, owned by Cumulus Media, have been partners since 2004, bringing Whitecaps games to the WBBL airwaves for each of the last 11 seasons. They recently agreed to a three-year extension that will keep WBBL as the Whitecaps' flagship station through 2017, with a few select games broadcast on WJRW 1340 AM. Several games will again be available throughout West Michigan on the Whitecaps Radio Network. To listen live to Whitecaps games online, fans can go to www.whitecapsbaseball.com or www.wbbl.com.

The Whitecaps open the 2015 season on Thursday, April 9 against the Dayton Dragons at 6:35 pm. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by phone at 616-784-4131, online at www.whitecapsbaseball.com, or in person from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Whitecaps temporary office at 5716 West River Drive in Belmont. Complete ticket information, including season and group ticket prices and perks, is available at www.whitecapsbaseball.com.

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