Voice of Cal Poly baseball tapped to announce Giants’ home-opening series

C.J. Silas has waited many years to get an opportunity that is now just days away.

Days after filling in as the public address announcer in the San Francisco Giants’ final spring training game, Silas has been asked to return Oracle Park to call games that count for her first time ever.

The longtime voice of Cal Poly baseball and host of the C.J. Silas Show on the local ESPN affiliate in San Luis Obispo County will be the public address announcer for the Giants’ home-opening series against the San Diego Padres starting Friday at 1:35 p.m.

Silas got her first taste of the big leagues last week when she served as public address announcer on March 26 for the Giants final spring training game.

Silas is hoping to parlay the temporary position into a permanent announcing role with the team, which has said it will rotate stadium announcers to start the season.

Silas previously has auditioned for roles with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves as a finalist for permanent roles.

“I’m just going to be the best announcer for that stadium when I’m there, and I’m not thinking about auditioning,” Silas said of the Giants’ role. “I’m not asking questions. I’m just enjoying the opportunity, and the chance to fulfill this dream. And if the Giants are not the team that chooses me, then I’m a step closer to doing this for other teams. But this is actually the first time I’ll announce officially a Major League Baseball regular season game.”

Silas has served as Cal Poly’s public address announcer for 22 years, and has served as a play-by-play announcer for Hancock College baseball, softball and football, along with hosting her ESPN Radio 1280 weekly sports talk show, for several years.

“Right now I am preparing for opening weekend in one of the most beautiful Major League Baseball stadiums in the country,” Silas said.

The 57-year-old Pismo Beach resident said she plans to head up to San Francisco on Thursday, preparing for the weekend role with audio recordings that the Giants staff will send her in advance of players pronouncing their own names so that she can properly introduce them at the plate and in the field.

Opportunity comes after Giants parted ways with longtime announcer

The Giants’ public address announcer role is currently open after the departure of Renel Brooks-Moon, who served as the voice of the Giants for 24 years, including their three World Series championships.

“I wanted to take a moment to address my first chance at announcing an MLB game, 30 years in the making,” Silas said in a recent Instragram post. “I was given the opportunity to fill in for the SF Giants’ public address announcer position last night. I am overjoyed and grateful to the team for their support in growing my career, but my gratitude cannot be expressed without addressing my profound respect for Renel Brooks-Moon.”

She added: “Renel’s contributions to the sports world are indisputable, as she is a shining light and pillar in the community. Like many in the San Francisco Giants’ community, I share the same appreciation for Renel and her countless hours dedicated to paving the path for women in sports.”

Silas grew up in Los Angeles as a Dodgers fan but said Saturday that she’s a fan of sports first and Jackie Robinson has long been her biggest inspiration.

As a girl trying to push through the ranks for Little League in L.A., and later as a rare female sports broadcaster for national networks such as ESPN and Fox Sports, Silas said she has had to persevere through challenges and roadblocks.

“I followed all sports growing up with my grandmother, who loved a lot of different sports, and we watched while my parents were going through divorce,” Silas said. “I played baseball in Little League, but I couldn’t play past Pony League, or what they call Babe Ruth now, because they wouldn’t let me.”

From her broadcast experience, Silas wrote the book “Only Girl in the Room: A Memoir.”

If named to the permanent public address announcing role with the Giants, she’d follow Sherry Davis, the first female public address announcer, and Brooks-Moon, an icon in the industry.