LA CROSSE, WI – The La Crosse Loggers baseball club has seen nearly 50 former players and coaches advance onto professional baseball plus another seven make it all the way to the big leagues over the first ten seasons of the team’s existence.
Additionally, the Loggers have witnessed numerous former interns and/or staff members work their way into the professional baseball ranks. Today, team officials announced that the man that has served as the voice of the Loggers since the team’s inception in 2003, John Pappadopoulos, will be moving on to help broadcast games for the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Pappadopoulos (Pop-uh-dop-uh-less) will join long-time Memphis broadcaster Steve Selby in 2013, sharing play-by- play and analyst duties for each of the Redbirds 72 home games at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tenn. Redbirds games are broadcast on WHBQ 560 AM out of Memphis and can also be heard live at memphisredbirds.com.
Pappadopoulos called every Loggers game but two between 2003-2012 and was the longest tenured play-by-play man in the Northwoods League before getting the call up to pro ball. "Pops" had also served as the voice of the La Crosse Night Train of the N.I.F.L. and before that served as the backup voice of the La Crosse Bobcats CBA basketball team. For the past six years, he has also worked as the news and sports director at WCOW/WKLJ.
During his eleven years in the La Crosse market, John has also hosted a daily afternoon sports show on ESPN radio, covered the Green Bay Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, and been a regular ESPN local SportsCenter anchor. Before coming to the Coulee Area, the New Jersey native worked in Boston as an on-air sports caster on Sports Radio WEEI.
Loggers general manager Chris Goodell praised Pappadopoulos for his work with the Loggers. "Pops helped build our Logger brand over the first ten seasons through his tireless work and dedication to our Logger Radio Network broadcasts night-in and night-out." Goodell continued, "Even though he will be missed, we couldn’t be happier for him for this opportunity and can’t think of an individual more deserving. The Redbirds organization just got better today."
Replacing Pappadopoulos in the Logger Radio Network broadcast booth will be a pair of familiar voices as the Loggers will welcome back Micah Schroeder and Nick Rytilahti. Schroeder served as a member the LRN broadcast crew, alongside Pappadapoulos, during the 2010-11 seasons and had previously worked as the play-by-play man and media relations coordinator of the Wisconsin Woodchucks in 2009. Rytilahti was a good luck charm for the Loggers franchise last season, when he teamed with Pappadapoulos to broadcast the team’s first ever championship run over the Logger airways in 2012. The Holmen, Wisc. native is currently pursuing degrees in sports management and sports broadcasting at UW-La Crosse and has also worked alongside Pappadapoulos broadcasting high school football and basketball games on WKLJ/ESPNRadio over the past two years.
The Logger Radio Network continues to be the largest assemblage of radio affiliates in the Northwoods League. All 70 games will once again be broadcast on the flagship station, Eagle 102.7 FM (KQEG) and select games of the week will be broadcast on Q102 FM out of Viroqua. All Logger games can also be viewed and heard at www.northwoodsleague.com/tv.
The first game broadcast of the season will take place on Wednesday, May 29 when the Loggers travel to Battle Creek, Mich. to take on the Bombers. Air time on the Logger Radio Network is set for 5:30 p.m. (Central). The 2013 home opener is set for Sunday, June 2 when the Lumbermen welcome the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters to town for a 5:05 p.m. first pitch. Season tickets and mini-plans are on sale now at the Loggers ticket office (1225 Caledonia St., La Crosse) or by calling 608-796 9553. More ticket and schedule information can also be found online at www.LaCrosseLoggers.com.
