Jay Miranda, voice of Pullman Park, stepping down as public address announcer after more than 25 years
Serving as the public address announcer at Historic Pullman Park was not just a duty for Jay Miranda. It became a passion, something that helped define him.
That’s why his recent decision to retire was difficult for him to make.
Miranda was diagnosed with diabetes 25 years ago and has been receiving dialysis treatments since 2010.
“I’ve been dealing with a lot of health issues, this year has been bad for me,” he said. “A case of Sepsis infected my dialysis catheter, and that affects my heart valve. I just got home from the hospital on Monday. But the biggest reason I have stepped down is I’m losing my eyesight. I’m already blind in my right eye, and now the left eye is getting pretty bad. Seeing things at long distances, I can’t do it anymore.
“I would’ve liked to go out on my own terms, but my health issues just didn’t allow it.”
Miranda contacted John Morgan, a member of Pullman Park’s board of directors, earlier this month to relay his situation.
“It’s the end of an era,” Morgan said. “Everybody came to know Jay. Serra Catholic made a point to let us know how much their baseball team enjoyed coming here to play. They liked the ambiance, and Jay was a big part of that.
“We are in search of a new announcer.”
Miranda’s introduction to announcing baseball games came at the Center Township fields in 1998. His voice later echoed around the original Pullman Park prior to the venue being rebuilt. When the park reopened in 2008, he took his seat behind the microphone, and for 17 years he was a staple at high school, college and amateur league games.
Miranda, who has been confined to a wheelchair since 2021, previously announced Butler High wrestling matches and football games before his health forced the end of those duties.
“The job at Pullman is the toughest one to give up because baseball is my favorite sport,” he said. “I like announcing the players’ names and want all of them to feel like big-leaguers. Pullman really did become my second home.
“At the start of every baseball season, I watch a baseball movie, just to get myself in the mood. The other day, I watched ‘The Rookie’ with Dennis Quaid, and I wept, realizing I’m not going to do this anymore.”
Late in 2016, a leaky heart valve began a sequence of events that nearly took Miranda’s life.
“The best option was surgery, but with the condition my body was in, the chance of survival was 25%,” Miranda said months after the ordeal. “We decided to roll the dice.”
The surgery lasted six hours, and Miranda didn’t wake up for two weeks, but he was alive. He was bed-ridden until mid-January and then went through a month of rehab.
“When I finally returned home in late February, I looked at the calendar and saw that Moniteau was supposed to open its season in late March.
“I had a month to get myself ready to walk into that ballpark and do my job,” said Miranda, who was behind the mic for opening day.
That ordeal nearly a decade ago speaks to just how much Miranda loved what he did. But he will be the first to tell you he has received much in return.
“I got to announce the names of players who went on to play in the Major Leagues, David Bednar and Kevan Smith,” he said. “I’m most proud of that. It’s one of the biggest thrills of my life.”
Miranda was raised in Butler, was a member of the Golden Tornado Class of 1983, and has lived in or near the city since 1997. He wants to warn others of the dangers of diabetes, which has led to his multiple health problems.
“I can’t believe how much it has taken away from me,” he said. “I’ve lost all of my toes, three fingers, a leg and now I’m going blind. Everybody, please, watch your sugars.”
Through all of his struggles, Miranda’s rock has been his wife of 34 years, Tina.
“She truly has been there for me through sickness and health,” he said. “After my health issues began, she did a lot of things with raising our four kids on her own.
“My dialysis treatments are three days every week. We leave the house at 4:30 a.m., then she sits with me for four hours. She’s all of 5-foot tall, and there she is, picking up a 182-pound man, getting me out of my chair and into the car. I am totally grateful for her.”
