Phillies announcer Larry Andersen remains off the air following surgery
The veteran radio analyst and former Phillies pitcher remains in Clearwater, Fla., recovering.
Where’s Larry Andersen?
The veteran Phillies radio announcer has cut back his schedule in recent years, but the fan favorite wasn’t in the booth alongside Scott Franzke during the team’s three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. Calling the action instead was former Phillies shortstop Kevin Stocker, who has been splitting time with Andersen in the team’s radio booth since 2023.
Andersen, 71, also won’t be on hand to call the Phillies’ three-game series against Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the reigning World Series champs who enter Citizens Bank Park this weekend on an eight-game winning streak.
Instead, Andersen remains in Clearwater, Fla., recovering from bladder surgery he underwent last month. Andersen told The Inquirer he had hoped to be back in the booth for the team’s home opener, but his recovery has been slower than expected due to radiation treatment. He hopes to be back in Philly sometime next week.
The former pitcher began calling Phillies games in 1998, taking the spot vacated following the death of Richie Ashburn in 1997. Andersen split his time on TV before joining Franzke on the radio full-time in 2007.
Andersen cut back from calling every Phillies game in 2018 and reduced his schedule further in 2022, in part to spend more time with his family. But he’s called more home games in recent seasons as the Phillies have become a perennial playoff contender.
“It was more just a personal decision that, in my waning years, I wanted to do some things while I was above ground,” Andersen told The Inquirer in 2017.
This season, once he recovers, he’ll be back in the booth to call all but one home series a month at Citizens Bank Park. That could be as soon as April 14, when the Phillies host the San Francisco Giants.
Until then, it will be Stocker calling games alongside Franzke, who has learned how to play off each color analyst’s strengths.
“Larry and Stock are different people, but my approach remains the same — I try to be me, and I try to get them to be them,” Franzke recently told The Inquirer. “For instance, Stocker is going to be more inclined to look at newer stats and metrics utilized today. That’s not who Larry is, so why bother going there … unless I’m trying to get Larry to make a joke.”