"The only way to do great work is to love what you do.", Steve Jobs once said. This is truly fitting for Don Orsillo, who won his 7th Emmy in June for Outstanding Play by Play Announcing for the San Diego Padres. “I grew up loving baseball and listened to a lot on radio. I thought the broadcasters had the coolest job ever. They got to go to all the games and it seemed like everyone viewed them as their friend, even if you did not actually know them. I told my parents what I wanted to do at 12 and amazingly feel fortunate to be in my 25th Major League season doing what I love”.

Born in Melrose Massachusetts, outside Boston, Orsillo and his family moved to Palos Verdes in 1984 where he attended Miraleste High School. He played Varsity baseball and basketball before graduating in 1987. He began his career in broadcasting calling games for minor league baseball and hockey teams after graduating from Northeastern University in 1991. Cut to 2001, when he was called up to the Majors to broadcast for the Boston Red Sox, which wasn’t an easy progression. “The late Tim Wakefield became my friend when I broke into the Majors in 2001. I was having a hard time as a new voice after 10 minor league seasons and he was the first player to help me adjust to the Major Leagues”. But he soon found his rhythm and voice, which paid off, when he found himself broadcasting 3 World Series winning Season’s with the Red Sox. “That has to be at the top of the career high list. Having 3 World Series rings is very cool’”. He has also called 10 MLB postseasons for TBS and was named Massachusetts Broadcaster of the Year, twice, in 2005 and 2015. Through the Red Sox, he also appeared in movies, “The Heat”, “The Town” and “Fever Pitch”.

But in 2015, his contract with the Red Sox wasn’t renewed. “I was very surprised and felt like I was at my lowest point. What I didn’t know was how much I would love my 2nd chapter in San Diego with the Padres”. He was chosen to work along side the legendary Dick Engberg until Engberg’s retirement in 2016. “Honestly, after 15 years in Boston I was concerned that taking over in San Diego with a new fan base from scratch and for a Hall of Fame broadcaster like Dick was going to be very difficult. It went very well and he was a big part of welcoming me back to Southern California”. Another advantage of joining the Padres was being back in Southern California. “Seeing and reconnecting with my all my friends from Miraleste either in San Diego or L.A. is great. There are roughly 13 of us who still are in group chats. A couple of weeks ago some of my high school friends brought out my Varsity Head Coach Mirsky who I had not seen in 30 years”.

And he’s always entertained those high school friends. Chad Budde, Orsillos former teammate said, “Don and I were two of the last people off bench our senior year. So, we didn’t play very much. We typically sat next to each other, and he would start doing play-by-play of the game. He obviously knew our players’ names and the names of some of the opposing players. For the ones he didn’t know, he used their jersey numbers. I occasionally added some color commentary, but it was really the Don Orsillo show. We had a lot of fun with it and often ended up in fits of giggles and laughter… which generally brought about disapproving looks from the coaches. Especially when Don would make back stories on players from both teams. Today, from his time with the Red Sox and Padres, Don and his partners are known for joking around during games”.

Orsillo and his friends/teammates stayed in touch beyond high school. “In addition, throughout high school and when we would come home for college, our friend group would have Over The Line tournaments at the Little League field behind what was then Dapplegray Intermediate School. When his team wasn’t playing, Don often got in the box/booth behind home plate and announced who was at bat and provided play-by-play and commentary for the games. Always trying to make the rest of us laugh!”

In addition to being entertaining, Orsillo is a generous friend. Budde said, “When Don was with the Red Sox, I took my son (who was 9 or 10 at the time) back to New England to visit family. Don got us tickets to a game and invited us up to see him in the press box during the game. It was great to see that full circle moment in person… from calling MHS basketball games from the bench to calling a MLB game at Fenway Park”.

Orsillo has been the voice of the San Diego Padres now for 10 years and clearly loves what he does, except for all the travel. “The amount of travel and time away from my family during the season and missing many of their important events”. He and his wife Kathy live in Coronado, CA currently and have two adult daughters Sydney 25, Madison 22. When not spending time at the ballpark, you can find him documenting his activities on Instagram (@thedonorsillo), fishing on his Mini Yacht, and cooking. In fact, had he not gone into broadcasting he would have been a chef. “I am pretty much about 3 things. Baseball, fishing, and cooking. The latter two are simply therapeutic hobbies for me”. It doesn’t look like the food world will be seeing Chef Orsillo any time soon, as he and The Padres signed a long-term contract extension in February of this year.

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Amy (Barber) Bergant grew up in Rancho Palos Verdes. She attended the University of Southern California, getting her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from The Annenberg School for Journalism, where she was also a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She currently lives in South Redondo Beach with her husband of almost 25 years, twin 14 year old daughters, and their 2 cats, George and Henry. When not chauffering her kids around, she enjoys hanging out with friends, eating good food, listening to great music, watching ridiculous television shows and going to the beach.