Joe Magrane returns as television color analyst for the Rays in 2008.  He also appears on numerous FOX Network telecasts. In 2002, he served as postgame reporter for the National League Championship Series. Joe was a color analyst for NBC's baseball coverage of the last two summer Olympic Games: 2000 in Sydney, Australia and last year in Athens, Greece. Before coming to the Rays, the 10-year major league veteran worked as an analyst on regional ESPN major league games in 1997 and worked with Devil Rays play-by-play man Dewayne Staats on ESPN's coverage of the College World Series.An All-America selection at the University of Arizona in 1985, Magrane compiled a 56-67 major league record with the St. Louis Cardinals (1987-93), California Angels (1993-95), and Chicago White Sox (1996). He finished third in the 1987 N.L. Rookie-of-the-Year voting, helping lead the Cardinals to the World Series. He won the ERA title in 1988 while with the Cards (2.18) and the following year won 18 games, placing third in the N.L. Cy Young voting. His nephew, Jim, is a pitcher in the Devil Rays' system. He and his wife, Renee, have two daughters, Shannon and Sophia and reside in Tampa.

Baseball Library
A first-round draft pick in 1985, the fireballer overwhelmed opponents in two-plus minor league seasons with a 1.89 ERA. Despite time out for a sore elbow his rookie season, Magrane was 9-7 in 1987 and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. As a rookie, he also drew the starting assignment for Game Seven of the World Series that year, a game the Cardinals lost, 4-2.
The quotable media favorite employed excellent control and a great curve and changeup in 1988 to win the ERA crown (2.18) but at 5-9 was the first ERA leader since Nolan Ryan in 1987 with a losing record. He again missed time that year on the DL, and he sat out his last start of the season to protect his ERA crown, which he won by four points. He was 18-9 with a 2.91 ERA in 1989.

After going 10-17 with a 3.59 ERA in 1990, Magrane missed most of the next two seasons with an elbow injury. “I’ve had so many X-rays that my pitches might take on a subtle glow,” the oft-injured pitcher once said. “It will be tough to pick up the ball. It will look like an opaque-type fog.” Unfortunately for the pitcher, hitters didn't have too much trouble picking up the ball after injuries struck; post-surgery, Magrane struggled through three more unsuccessful seasons before retiring in 1996.

Magrane, who got his first taste of broadcasting while on the DL in 1991, spent a year working for ESPN and was then hired as a television analyst for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998. He also worked for NBC as a baseball commentator during the Sydney Olympics. (FO/SH/AF)

 

• June 7, 1982: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1982 amateur draft, but did not sign.
• June 3, 1985: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round (18th pick) of the 1985 amateur draft.
• August 15, 1993: Released by the St. Louis Cardinals.
• August 20, 1993: Signed as a Free Agent with the California Angels.
• May 3, 1995: Released by the California Angels.
• May 13, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
• June 8, 1995: Released by the Chicago Cubs.
• June 24, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Montreal Expos.
• October 16, 1995: Granted Free Agency.
• February 6, 1996: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
• October 15, 1996: Granted Free Agency.