Brian Smith: Philadelphia Phillies name 4 former players to radio broadcast team

Mar. 9—The Philadelphia Phillies continue to plan for a 2022 baseball season, at least from a broadcasting standpoint.

The team announced Tuesday that former players Michael Bourn, Chad Durbin, Erik Kratz and Kevin Stocker will rotate working road games with play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke.

Larry Andersen will continue to call most home games.

It also was announced that Gregg Murphy will host the pre- and postgame shows for all games.

The foursome of former players replace Kevin Frandsen, who left the Phillies to become the television analyst for the Washington Nationals.

"We believe the four alums who we selected will work well with Scott Franzke and bring a variety of perspectives and unique personalities to the game, making listening more entertaining," David Buck, Phillies executive vice president, said in a statement. "Larry's role in covering home games is a great balance, given his long history in working with Scott. He's also a fan favorite, so we're fortunate to still have him as part of the radio broadcast team."

Bourn, a two-time All-Star and Gold Glove-winning outfielder, was selected by the Phillies in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. He played for the Phillies in 2006-07 before being traded to Houston as part of the deal for closer Brad Lidge. Bourn also played for Atlanta, Cleveland, Arizona and Baltimore in an 11-year career.

Durbin, a reliever for the Phillies' 2008 World Series championship team, had two stints with Philadelphia (2008-10, 2013). He also pitched for Kansas City, Cleveland, Arizona, Detroit and Atlanta during a 14-year big league career. He has covered MLB and college baseball with regular segments on 104.9 ESPN in Baton Rouge, La.

Kratz, a catcher, had two stints with the Phillies (2011-13, 2015). He also played with Pittsburgh, Toronto, Kansas City, Houston, the New York Yankees, Milwaukee, San Francisco and Tampa Bay. Last year, his first in retirement, he coached middle school baseball at Dock Mennonite in Lansdale.

Stocker rejoins the Phillies broadcast team after working select road games in 2018, and calling six games in 2016-17. He was the shortstop on the Phillies' 1993 NL championship team and played five (1993-97) of his eight big league seasons with the Phillies. He also played for Tampa Bay and Anaheim. He has been a college baseball color analyst for the Pac-12 Network and CBS Sports Network since 2002.