Hall of Fame Dodger broadcaster Jaime Jarrín,“the Spanish Voice of the Dodgers,” will return to the Dodgers’ Spanish-language broadcast booth for a 55th season in 2013 as part of a three-year contract and will remain at the helm of the Dodgers’ Spanish-language radio broadcast on Univision America KTNQ 1020 AM Los Angeles.

“I am honored to extend my career during such a thrilling time in Dodger history and under new ownership that has demonstrated a strong commitment to the Latinos in Los Angeles and in revitalizing the Dodgers throughout Latin America,” Jarrín said. “I am confident this leadership can bring a championship back to Los Angeles and I am happy to be a part of it.”

Jarrín will broadcast most of the Dodgers’ 162 regular season games, eight Spring Training games and all potential postseason games through the 2015 season. Jarrín holds the second-longest tenure in MLB broadcasting history behind his colleague and fellow Hall of Famer, Vin Scully, and the longest tenure ever in MLB’s Spanish-language broadcasting history.

Just one week after Hall of Famer Vin Scully announced that he would be returning for his 64th season with the Dodgers, Spanish broadcaster and fellow Hall of Fame Jaime Jarrin announced that he will be returning for his 55th season. (Photo Credit – Ron Cervenka)

“Jaime is a Dodger institution and is a big reason why the Dodgers have such a strong Latino fan base,” said Dodger Owner Earvin Johnson. “The Dodgers are the only club with two Hall of Fame broadcasters on staff and I’m excited that Jaime will continue to instill a love of Dodger baseball in Spanish-speaking Angelenos.”

“We’re committed to the Latino community in Los Angeles and knew that one of the most important things we could do right away was to ensure that Jaime would continue to lead the Spanish-language broadcast,” said Dodger President and CEO Stan Kasten. “We’re happy to have him here with us and are grateful for his insight and the foundation he laid in this community that we can now build upon.”

A native of Ecuador, Jarrín arrived in the U.S. on June 24, 1955, the same year that Dodger great Sandy Koufax made his Major League debut. Jarrín began his professional baseball broadcasting career in 1959 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the same year the club won the World Series, the first in Los Angeles franchise history.

He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 as the recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award. Jarrín became just the second Spanish-language announcer to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. During his unprecedented Spanish-language broadcasting career, he has called three perfect games, 15 no-hitters, 26 World Series and 21 All-Star Games. Jarrín called the Dodgers’ World Championships in 1959, ’63, ’65, ’81 and ’88.

Since broadcasting his first game on April 14, 1959, Jarrín has called many of the iconic moments in Los Angeles Dodger history including Sandy Koufax’s perfect game (Sept. 9, 1965 vs. the Cubs), Don Drysdale’s six consecutive shutouts in 1968, Fernando Valenzuela’s first start on Opening Day 1981 launching “Fernandomania,” Orel Hershiser’s 59 consecutive scoreless innings in 1988, Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 homer in the 1988 World Series and the Dodgers’ historic comeback with four consecutive home runs against San Diego on Sept. 18, 2006, which was capped off by Nomar Garciaparra’s walk-off home run for the 11-10, extra-inning win.

Jarrín is a pioneer in Spanish-language sports broadcasting and as such has collected numerous accolades, including the first Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association’s President’s Award, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the highest award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, induction into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame, and its foreign-language broadcaster of the year award and Golden Mike Awards. Last year, Jarrín was honored by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) Foundation with an AFTRA Media and Entertainment Excellence Award and was the Hall of Fame recipient for the Associated Press Television-Radio Association (APTRA).

Forty percent of Dodger fans are Latino and each season the Dodgers host nearly one million fans of Hispanic descent. The Dodgers were the first MLB club to implement a Spanish-language radio broadcast in 1958, which is now the longest running in all of baseball. The Dodgers’ official Spanish-language web site is www.losdodgers.com and Jarrín’s official Twitter handle is @JaimeJarrinHOF.