From JMS to the Major Leagues: Alumnus Josh Suchon hits a home run in his sports broadcasting career

The energetic environment of a baseball game is truly a special atmosphere. Cheering fans, team colors, and the classic tune of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” all come together to form one of the quintessential American sports experiences.

For Josh Suchon, an alumnus of San Diego State University and former Editor-In-Chief of The Daily Aztec, baseball games are the place where his love of sports and passion for journalism intersect.

“To be live, in the moment, describing things as they happen is just a totally exhilarating feeling,” Suchon said. “It’s also an extremely challenging feeling to stay focused and locked in for three hours nonstop, but I love the challenge of that, of being able to paint a picture for people who can’t see the game.”

Suchon broadcast his first Major League Baseball game as a radio announcer for the Colorado Rockies on July 18 and 19 in two games against the Minnesota Twins, a true home run for his sports broadcasting career.

Fellow SDSU Journalism and Media Studies alumnus Dan Hayes was working the same game as Suchon, covering the Twins for The Athletic. Hayes, another former Daily Aztec sports editor, has had a notable career as a baseball writer, covering the Padres, White Sox, and now the Twins.

To Suchon, sports broadcasting is a way to make any fan feel like they’re in the stadium with the team, no matter where they’re listening from.

Although he was filling in for the weekend, the experience brought him one step closer toward his goal of broadcasting for the Major Leagues.

“The dream is to do every game, 162 games, year after year after year, but it’s a step in the direction that hopefully gets me closer to that dream,” Suchon said.

Suchon has broadcast for the Albuquerque Isotopes for 12 years, covering approximately 1,786 games. He has also hosted the JMS “Where Ya At?” podcast, which highlights SDSU JMS alumni, since January 2023.

Suchon has a deep background in sports journalism, working as a newspaper reporter at The Oakland Tribune for 10 years, where he covered the Oakland A’s for three years and the San Francisco Giants for four years, along with local high school sports in Oakland.

Suchon also worked with the Dodgers Radio Network for four years, being featured on pre-game and post-game talks, in addition to broadcasting for other minor league teams and doing freelance broadcasting work for a wide range of sports.

In 2007, Suchon decided to leave the newspaper industry to pursue broadcast journalism, a leap of faith inspired by his determination to fulfill his dream as a sports broadcaster. The decision came with sacrifices, but ultimately pushed Suchon closer to his aspirations.

“I wanted more out of my career, so I took a big chance,” Suchon said.

As a former Editor in Chief of The Daily Aztec and member of KCR College Radio, Suchon said his time at SDSU helped him develop the journalism skills he continues to use in his day-to-day career.

“Being at The Daily Aztec was where I was able to find my voice for how to write, how to speak, how to do interviews, how to research, how to edit, and how to package something,” Suchon said. “All of that came together as a result of The Daily Aztec.”

Suchon always knew he wanted to study journalism, but his time in the JMS program only reaffirmed his passion and affinity for the field (and the baseball field, too!)

“All of that writing is what led me to be a better professional speaker,” Suchon said.

Suchon advises students making their way into the journalism field to “believe in yourself, but work your butt off.”

He says that  journalism students should always keep looking for ways to improve, be tough yet fair, and not be afraid to critique themselves, but also not be afraid to receive criticism from others. Journalism can be a competitive industry with sometimes limited job availability, but Suchon emphasized that at the end of the day, it is an important profession that students should be proud to pursue, and it can be extremely rewarding when done the right way.

As far as broadcasting opportunities go, announcing for the Rockies was nothing short of a grand slam for Suchon. However, this sports broadcaster’s journey is far from over, and he will continue to follow his dreams to the next base and all the way to the Major Leagues.