SALEM, Va. – The Salem Red Sox play-by-play personality Melanie Newman made history with Suzy Cool earlier this season. The duo created the first all female broadcast team in professional baseball.
With more than half of the baseball season behind them, Newman reflected on the community Roanoke has brought her.
"That community is a first for me. I've never felt so embedded in the people around the Roanoke Valley. They've just reached out on every standpoint," she said. "I go to the grocery store, and it's the first time in my life, they're like, 'Hey you call the Salem games.'"
With the addition of Saturday's games being televised on WSLS, it has brought more recognization to the woman calling the games.
"It takes you back a little back because again, for the most part, it is on radio. But then you have those TV games, and it does put the name and the face together, and people start clicking into that," she added. "It's been the biggest hug to have all these people who listen and chime in and have such nice things to say."