Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez diagnosed with cancer

TORONTO — Buck Martinez, the longtime broadcaster of the Toronto Blue Jays, announced Sunday that he is stepping away from the microphone after being diagnosed with cancer.

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Martinez, 73, who also played for three teams during a 17-year major league career from 1969 to 1986, made his announcement via Sportsnet on Twitter. Martinez said his call of Sunday’s game between the Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics will be his last “for a little while.”

“I’m grateful for a tremendous medical team, who has given me great optimism that I will come through this with flying colors,” said Martinez, who joined Sportsnet’s Blue Jays television crew in 2010. “I hope to rejoin my Sportsnet teammates for the stretch run later this season, but in the meantime I will be watching from the sidelines as I fight the good fight.”

John Albert “Buck” Martinez was a catcher who began his MLB career in 1969 with the expansion Kansas City Royals, according to Baseball-Reference.com. A native of Redding, California, Martinez played three seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers before he was traded to Toronto in 1981.

Martinez was named Toronto’s manager in 2001 but was fired midway through the 2002 season after compiling a 100-115 record, according to The Associated Press.

He began his career as a broadcaster in 1987 for the Blue Jays on TSN and also worked for ESPN, TBS and the Baltimore Orioles, according to Canadian Press.

In a statement, Mark Shapiro, the Blue Jays’ president and CEO, called Martinez “a dear friend” of the team and “a fixture” in the Canadian baseball community.

“As he steps away from the broadcast booth to receive treatment, we have no doubt Buck will face the road ahead with courage, determination, and his signature positivity,” Shapiro said. “On behalf of the entire Toronto Blue Jays organization and fans across the country, we want to extend our well wishes to Buck and his family. We look forward to seeing him back in the ballpark and on the broadcast again soon.”

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