A Jewish baseball whiz kid is the newest radio voice of the Kansas City Royals, impressing big-league fans with his gift for on-air storytelling and sweeping knowledge of the game.
Jake Eisenberg, 30, has captivated audiences with dramatic calls of historic Royals plays, including Bobby Witt Jr.’s first Major League home run, clutch postseason hits and defensive gems made by the “Boys in Blue” during their sweep of the Baltimore Orioles in the 2024 American League Wild Card Series.
A master of rhythmic narration, the Overland Park, Kansas, resident deploys novelistic detail to elevate broadcasts into immersive, nine-inning dramas alongside his colleagues in the booth. He’s already turned thousands of KC baseball lovers into loyal listeners, including plenty of Jewish fans.
Members of the tribe loyal to the Royals haven’t done this much kvelling since outfielder Richie Scheinblum hit .300 with 66 RBI for the team in his All-Star 1972 season. Only instead of his bat, Eisenberg is impressing with his smooth delivery and gift for lyrical language.
“I love the challenge of trying to find the right combinations of words to create the most vivid possible picture for somebody who’s listening, whether it’s a verb for a batted ball or the right color tint for what the sky looks like,” said Eisenberg, a self-described logophile who was the youngest full-time broadcaster in MLB during the 2023 season.
Entering his third full season with the Royals, Eisenberg will chronicle the pageantry of Opening Day Thursday in a matchup with the Cleveland Guardians at Kauffman Stadium.
Eisenberg’s virtuoso performances to date are no fluke – the New York native spends hours immersed in preparation both before and after broadcasts, meticulously studying game notes, statistics and storylines; poring over past broadcasts with a critical eye; and connecting with Royals players to help fans get to know them as people.
“I really want to make sure the way I’m communicating on the air is the same way that we would reactively communicate if we were just sitting in the stands together or at a bar watching the game,” Eisenberg said.
His commitment to excellence in the booth stems from his love for the game – a love that dates back to his childhood in Long Island’s Port Washington, where he fell hard for the New York Mets and their since-demolished Queens ballpark, Shea Stadium. His parents regularly brought him and his twin sister, Taylor, to Shea and later Citi Field to watch his favorite player, Hall-of-Fame catcher Mike Piazza, smash home runs into the outfield stands.
His formative season as both a fan and future baseball professional was 2006, when the Mets’ Carlos Beltran struck out looking to end Game 7 of the National League Championship Series; a crushing moment from which many Mets fans still haven’t recovered.
“The 2006 season was the year that I started to really have a conscious awareness of what was happening in baseball in a way that maybe I didn’t when I was six or seven years old,” said Eisenberg, who played baseball through high school. “Day by day, I knew the stats and the backs of baseball cards and played MLB Showdown [a collectible card game] with my friends.”
Equally cherished by Eisenberg are the days he spent listening to two of America’s best baseball broadcasters: Jewish New York Mets announcers Howie Rose – Eisenberg’s broadcasting idol – and Gary Cohen. Both men would later offer pointers as he rose through the ranks of baseball broadcasting, a field so competitive that even the most talented and driven aspirants rarely land an MLB job.
Eisenberg’s push toward the big leagues paid off in 2022 when he made his MLB debut as a Mets play-by-play broadcaster for 41 games, working several games alongside Rose in the broadcast booth.
His parents, Jill and Mark Eisenberg — a dietician and neurosurgeon, respectively — instilled in him a love of Jewish tradition equal to his passion for baseball. Judaism plays an important role in Eisenberg’s life: He grew up attending The Community Synagogue in Sands Point, New York, where his dad served as a longtime board member and past president.
Eisenberg’s favorite tradition is the lighting of Shabbat candles over family FaceTime calls, when his broadcast schedule allows.
“It was my mom’s idea to start the FaceTime calls with our grandparents [during the COVID pandemic in 2020] as a way to maintain a strong connection [during social distancing],” said Eisenberg, who married his wife, Jennifer, in January of 2024. “We would get my grandparents on FaceTime and light candles and say Kiddush. I still get a call from my dad every single Friday wishing me a Shabbat Shalom, and my wife gets her own call. It’s a really sweet thing that I look forward to and very much cherish.”
Eisenberg spent years broadcasting minor-league games in colorful ballparks, growing both personally and professionally, though his journey was not without challenges. Diagnosed with Celiac disease as a child, Eisenberg learned to manage the autoimmune disorder – which affected his intestines and stunted his growth – amid the rigors of school and radio work.
Eisenberg launched his on-air career at his alma mater, the University of Maryland, calling games for the Big Ten Network and student radio. In 2015, he helped create the Maryland Baseball Network. The following year, he leveraged his college experience into a broadcasting role with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod League.
He subsequently spent five seasons broadcasting minor league baseball games for teams in Brooklyn, New York; Richmond, Virginia; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate in Omaha, Nebraska, from 2020 through 2022.
Eisenberg hopes his devotion to the art of play-by-play – and successful management of Celiac – can inspire young people who may be struggling with the disease.
“Maybe seeing somebody dealing with the same challenge gives them just a little bit more confidence, makes them feel a little more empowered, to do what they want to do,” he said.