Two familiar names in the Minor League Baseball world are moving to new positions: Jay Burnham joins the Richmond Flying Squirrels (Class AA; Eastern League) broadcast team, while Laura Verillo is the new PR director for the Albuquerque Isotopes (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League).
Burnham, a 10-year veteran of minor league broadcasting, will join Squirrels’ lead broadcaster Jon Laaser to form the Squirrels’ broadcast team on both radio and television.
Burnham, who spent the last three seasons as the Director of Broadcasting and lead broadcaster for the Trenton Thunder (Class AA; Eastern League), will take over for Anthony Oppermann. Oppermann left the Squirrels to take the lead broadcasting position with the newly minted
Reading Fightin’ Phils (Class AA; Eastern League) following the 2012 season.
“I feel extremely fortunate to have had the chance to build our broadcast and brand with a tremendous broadcaster and great friend (Oppermann),” said Laaser. “I feel even more fortunate to have the chance to continue to enhance our broadcast and brand with another tremendous broadcaster and friend (Burnham). Jay is one of the top broadcasters in baseball, and his desire to come to Richmond speaks volumes about how highly regarded the Squirrels’ operation is throughout the game.”
A native of Shelburne Falls, MA, Burnham was named as the 2011 Minor League Broadcaster of the Year by Ballpark Digest. Along with the Thunder, Burnham has also called games for the Hagerstown Suns, Pensacola Pelicans and Asheville Tourists.
“It is an honor to become a part of the renowned Richmond franchise led by Chuck Domino, Parney and Bill Papierniak,” said Burnham. “I am greatly looking forward to joining Jon Laaser on the broadcast and hope my years of experience will bring an additional component to the games for the fans in Richmond. The past three years with the Thunder have been a blessing, and now my wife and I are excited to join another solid organization while being closer to family and friends.”
A graduate of Elon University, Burnham will provide play-by-play during home Squirrels’ broadcasts as well as select road games. He will be heard on each Squirrels’ broadcast as host of both “The Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup” and “The Flying Squirrels Post-Game Wrap.” Laaser will continue to provide play-by-play during each of the team’s 142 regular season broadcasts and will also contribute to the pre- and post-game shows.
In Albuquerque, Verillo takes over as the Isotopes’ Director of Public Relations. Her previous professional baseball experience includes positions in media-relations departments of the New York Yankees, Iowa Cubs, and Boise Hawks. She also worked for the Boston Red Sox Spanish broadcast team, New England Sports Network (NESN) and the Brockton Rox.
A New Jersey native and 2011 graduate of Boston University, Verillo has a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism with a concentration in Sports and Latin American Studies.
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