Astros broadcaster Francisco Romero showcases versatility as one of best Spanish broadcasters in MLB

Francisco Romero grew up on a hill in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. His family had a big house with a patio, palm trees and plenty of room to play baseball. The young Dodgers fans hit so many home runs and lost so many balls that he and his younger brother resorted to using the heads of his sister’s dolls as baseballs. When Romero was 12, his family moved to Tucson, Ariz. He didn’t know how to find Dodgers’ Spanish broadcaster Jaime Jarrin on the radio in Tucson. As he and his brother scanned through stations one day, they recognized the Dodgers’ names on an English station. They didn’t speak English at the time, but they knew their Dodgers. The voice they heard was Vin Scully, and the brothers tuned in daily to keep up with their favorite Dodgers, especially Fernando Valenzuela. Romero learned English listening to Scully. He also realized his own dream. “I told myself, ‘I’m going to broadcast in Spanish one of these days, so no one goes to bed without listening to those games,’” Romero said. “It inspired me. It was exciting to listen and to think one day I could be doing the same thing.” Now, Romero is in his 14th season as the Spanish broadcaster for the Astros. In the offseason, he broadcasts football and basketball games for the Arizona Wildcats. Romero earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Arizona in 1994 and began to work in public health and politics. He had a good job with the county, so he kept sports at the back of his mind. However, when he was offered a sports reporting job at Telemundo he jumped at the chance in 1998.