Minor League Baseball

Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers Make Historic Hire For New Play-By-Play Broadcaster

Rylee Pay, who previously worked for the Portland Sea Dogs at the Double-A level, will become the first female lead broadcaster in Triple-A. She will take over the Tacoma Rainiers job from Mike Curto, who retired at the end of 2024.

Brady Farkas

New Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Rylee Pay
New Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Rylee Pay / Tacoma Rainiers on X
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The Tacoma Rainiers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, have made a historic hire at the play-by-play position.

They've hired Rylee Pay to helm the microphone, making her the first female lead broadcaster at the Triple-A level. She previously worked for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) and takes over for Mike Curto, who retired at the end of 2024.

Per the team release:

“I’ve heard so many fantastic things about the culture of Tacoma and what baseball means to this city,” Pay said. “I really want to paint the picture of what is happening on the field and help bring the game to life for those fans that can’t attend. I look forward to meeting the people of Tacoma and immersing myself in this special community.”

Rainiers' leadership said that more than 250 applied for this position.

“Rylee had the right combination of experience and creativity and was the best fit for our culture and brand – two things that we took very seriously when determining the right fit,” (Team President Aaron) Artman said. “From Bob Robertson to Mike Curto, there is a legacy here in Tacoma that is unique, and I look forward to Rylee adding to that legacy on the airwaves when we kick off the season on March 28th.”

Curto's departure and Pay's arrival aren't the only changes to the Mariners broadcasting plans this season. Longtime Mariners' radio/tv voice Dave Sims has departed to become the radio broadcaster for the New York Yankees.

He had been with the team since 2007.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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