René Cárdenas, a trailblazing figure in baseball broadcasting who brought the game to Spanish-speaking audiences for six decades, passed away Sunday at his home in Houston. He was 96.
Cárdenas made history in 1958 when he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as the first full-time Spanish-language broadcaster in Major League Baseball. This was no small feat—he was there from the very beginning of the Dodgers' West Coast era, helping connect a new generation of fans to America's pastime in their native language.
His impact was immediate and far-reaching. In 1959, Cárdenas was part of the first Spanish-language broadcast of the World Series, and just two years later, he called the All-Star Game in Spanish. These weren't just broadcasts; they were cultural milestones that opened the door for millions of Hispanic fans to experience baseball like never before.
The Dodgers honored his legacy in a social media post, calling him "the first full-time Spanish-language broadcaster in MLB history" and noting his 21 years behind the mic for Los Angeles.
Cárdenas didn't stop with the Dodgers. In 1961, he was hired by the expansion Houston Colt .45s, who became the Astros in 1965. He spent 14 seasons with the franchise, chronicling their early days and their move into the iconic Astrodome. The Astros remembered him as "a true legend and pioneer" whose work had "a tremendous impact on the success of the Colt .45s/Astros in Houston's large Hispanic community and beyond."
After a brief return to his native Nicaragua in 1975, Cárdenas came back to MLB in 1981 to become the first Spanish-language broadcaster for the Texas Rangers, according to former Rangers PR executive John Blake. He then returned to the Dodgers for nearly two decades starting in 1982, and later rejoined the Astros to become the first to call their games in Spanish on television in 2008.
Even after retirement, Cárdenas stayed connected to the game, writing for the Astros' Spanish-language website and La Prensa, a Nicaraguan newspaper. He also called major events beyond baseball, including the Muhammad Ali-Jimmy Ellis heavyweight championship fight at the Astrodome in 1971.
René Cárdenas didn't just broadcast games—he built a bridge between baseball and the Hispanic community, and his voice will echo through the sport for generations to come.