Steve Klauke retiring as voice of Salt Lake Bees following the 2023 season

Brandon Judd
·2 min read
Salt Lake Bees play-by-play announcer Steve Klauke will retire as voice of the Bees following the 2023 season.
Salt Lake Bees play-by-play announcer Steve Klauke will retire as voice of the Bees following the 2023 season. | Adam Fondren, Deseret News

Steve Klauke has been a mainstay in the Utah sports radio scene for three decades.

This will be his final year as the Salt Lake Bees’ play-by-play broadcaster, though, as he announced Friday he will retire from the role at the end of the 2023 season.

Klauke, a three-time Utah Sportscaster of the Year award winner, has been the voice of the Triple-A organization Bees since 1994 (then known as the Buzz) and has called more than 4,000 games for the team.

“As I enter my 29th season, I have decided that now is the best time to hang up the microphone. I want to thank the fans for their support and hope everyone has had as much fun listening as I have had broadcasting,” Klauke said in a statement. “I am looking forward to calling the 2023 season and taking one last trip around the league.”

The Chicago native will continue to work as the radio voice for Weber State football and men’s basketball, according to a press release. He has served as the Wildcats’ broadcasting voice since 2015.

Klauke came to Utah in 1991 to work as a pregame, halftime and postgame show host for the Utah Jazz and has worked on game broadcasts for a variety of Utah sports teams, including the University of Utah, Utah Grizzlies and Utah Flash.

He was named the Utah Sportscaster of the Year in 1995, 2014 and 2016.

Klauke also has worked on game broadcasts for the Los Angeles Angels, the Bees’ Major League Baseball parent club and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Bees will begin their 2023 season on March 31 with a three-game series against the Sacramento River Cats. Klauke’s final game for the Bees is scheduled for Sept. 24.

“Steve is an icon in the Utah media market and, in my opinion, the best play-by-play announcer in baseball at any level,” Bees president Marc Amicone said in a statement. “I will miss hearing his voice on the airwaves during Bees games. We wish him all the best in his upcoming retirement and look forward to seeing Steve and Sue at the ballpark as fans in the upcoming years.”