Jerry Schemmel, longtime Rockies radio voice, laid off by iHeartRadio

Jerry Schemmel the longtime radio voice for the Colorado Rockies on KOA was laid off by iHeartRadio on Tuesday It marked the second time in six years that Schemmel lost his job as a Rockies announcer I wasn t utterly shocked by the phone call as I knew other layoffs were happening in Denver the -year-old Schemmel explained But a little surprised because I was making only of the salary I was making when they let me go the first time Dave Tepper KOA s effort director declined to comment on iHeartMedia s decision Nor would Tepper say whether or not Schemmel will be replaced for the Rockies season The Rockies are coming off a historically bad -loss season posting the second-worst record in National League history during baseball s modern era Schemmel along with broadcast partner Jack Corrigan has been the broadcaster for KOA Radio AM FM the Rockies flagship station for a combined years In January Schemmel who had called Rockies games for the previous seasons was laid off as part of iHeartMedia s massive job cuts around the country iHeartMedia is the largest radio conglomerate in the United States In April Schemmel returned to the radio booth to call Rockies games on after a two-year absence He replaced Mike Rice who had teamed with Corrigan for two seasons I m back in the saddle back to baseball and I m incredibly excited Schemmel declared at the time I missed baseball more than I thought I would I missed the people a lot And I missed the challenge of painting a picture with my words for Rockies fans Schemmel lamented iHeartMedia s decision to lay him off again Related Articles Rockies Journal Seven years after Colorado s last playoff meeting vs Milwaukee club still has much to learn from Brew Crew Savannah Bananas returning to Coors Field for two more dates in Renck Nothing will change with Rockies if next baseball president GM don t have autonomy Rockies front office change Five viable candidates to replace GM Bill Schmidt Rockies GM Bill Schmidt approaches down as band looks for new direction after dreadful season It seems incredibly unfair he disclosed I gave my heart and soul to those broadcasts and felt like I was fully prepared every night and hopefully sounded OK But I know life is unfair It s unfair for the others who got laid off both in Denver and across the country Like I tell people in my motivational speaking When you get knocked down you gotta get back up Which I will do Schemmel has been a voice of Colorado s sports landscape for nearly three decades He was the radio play-by-play voice for the Denver Nuggets for seasons He previously worked as the radio voice for football and basketball at Colorado State and Northern Colorado Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis