René Cárdenas, first Spanish-language MLB voice, dies at 96

René Cárdenas, the first Spanish-language broadcaster for the Dodgers, Astros and Rangers during a 60-year career, has died at 96. The Astros on Monday said that Cárdenas “died Sunday at his home in Houston.” Cárdenas joined the Dodgers when they moved to L.A. in 1958. He was part of the first Spanish broadcast of the World Series in 1959 and the MLB All-Star Game two years later. The Astros, then known as the Colt .45s, hired Cárdenas in 1961 for their inaugural season of 1962, and he spent 14 seasons with the club. In 1981, Cárdenas became the first Spanish broadcaster for the Rangers. A second Dodgers stint lasted nearly two decades starting in 1982 before a return to the Astros, where he became the first to call games in Spanish on TV in 2008. Cárdenas called other high-profile events, including the Muhammad Ali-Jimmy Ellis boxing match at the Astrodome in 1971 (AP, 5/11).