Jarrin's listenership grew.
This wasn't how Jarrin expected to leave his mark when he left Ecuador, where he was already an established newsman working for a 150,000-watt station that called itself "La voz de los Andes," or "The voice of the Andes." His sole purpose in leaving home, he said, was to "expand my horizons."
With his future uncertain, his wife, Blanca, remained in Ecuador. He sold his pickup truck to a friend, only to learn that the friend never paid his wife. He had to send half of his $40 back to Ecuador.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Dodgers: Tuesday's article in the Sports section about Dodgers Spanish-language announcer Jaime Jarrin included two photographs of Jarrin and fellow broadcaster Pepe Yniguez in a broadcast booth at Dodger Stadium. Their captions should have identified the photos as dating from 1999.
He was initially rebuffed when approaching KWKW about employment, his inability to speak English and his age held against him. Jarrin, who landed his first radio job in Ecuador when he was 16 years old, was still only 21.
Over the first two decades of his U.S. radio career, his greatest on-the-air moments came outside baseball.
He won a Golden Mike in 1970 and again in '71. He covered the slaying of journalist Ruben Salazar. He visited the White House twice on assignment. He was at Shea Stadium in 1979 for the visit of Pope John Paul II.
But there might not have been a place where the shift of the social landscape in this country was more visible than at post-Fernandomania Dodger Stadium.
"The team doesn't win championships but draws 3.5 million fans a year," Jarrin said. "One of my greatest satisfactions is that we might've been able to show other organizations the value of the Hispanic market."
Latin players, once concentrated in a few markets, are everywhere. And Jarrin has helped usher in a new wave of Spanish-language reporters, among them broadcast partner Pepe Yniguez, who said he started listening to Jarrin when he was 16 years old and living in Tijuana. Yniguez said Jarrin inspired him to pursue a career in radio instead of print media.
"He is our Vin Scully," Yniguez said.
Jarrin has a contract that runs through the 2011 season. His life, he said, is steady. He and Blanca live in the same San Marino home they bought in 1965 for $50,000. He hasn't seriously pondered retirement.
"I was fortunate that a deep love for baseball awakened within me," Jarrin said. "I love baseball. I could watch two games a day, seven days a week. I love it, I love it, I love it."
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dylan.hernandez@latimes.com
