Mario Impemba

Mario Impemba (born 1963 (age 31)) is an American sportscaster, best known as the television play-by-play announcer for the Detroit Tigers from 2002 to 2018. Before working for the Tigers, he announced for the Los Angeles Angels on both television and radio and several minor league teams.

Early and education
Impemba was born in Detroit and grew up in Sterling Heights, Michigan. He attended Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights before graduating from Michigan State University in 1985.

Early roles
At Michigan State University, Impemba volunteered to announce whatever games were being broadcast on the university sports network. As a professional, he started out announcing games for the Peoria Chiefs single-A baseball club in 1987. Impemba also served as the sports director at WXCL Radio and the play-by-play voice of the Peoria Rivermen of the now-defunct International Hockey League during the 1987-88 season. From 1989 to 1990, Mario served as the voice of the Quad City Angels single-A team in Davenport, Iowa. In 1991, Impemba began calling games for the Tucson Toros of the Pacific Coast League.

Impemba served as the radio (KLAA) and fill-in television (Fox Sports West and KCOP-TV) play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Angels for seven seasons (1995–2001).

Detroit Tigers
Beginning in 2002, Impemba joined the Tigers television team alongside color commentator Kirk Gibson, replacing play-by-play commentator Josh Lewin. In 2003, Rod Allen replaced Gibson, who was named the Tigers' bench coach that season. The Impemba–Allen tandem would last from 2003 to 2018. In the last few years of his tenure, Impemba occasionally worked alongside Gibson and Jack Morris.

On September 4, 2018, Impemba and Allen were involved in an off-air physical altercation immediately after broadcasting the Tigers' road game against the Chicago White Sox. Fox Sports Detroit sent the men home on different planes after the game, and the following night's telecast was covered by Matt Shepard and Kirk Gibson. While one source claimed that there was an argument over a chair, followed by Allen putting Impemba in a choke hold, Allen's agent denied that his client choked Impemba. On September 7, Fox Sports Detroit suspended both men from calling any Tigers games for the remainder of the 2018 season. It was later announced that Impemba and Allen's contracts were not renewed for future seasons, ending their 16-year partnership.

Boston Red Sox
On February 13, 2019, Impemba was named as a part-time play-by-play announcer for the Boston Red Sox Radio Network. It was announced in January 2020 that he would not return to the Red Sox.

Awards and other works
Impemba's book If These Walls Could Talk: Detroit Tigers was published in 2014. He won a Michigan Emmy Award in June 2006 in the sports play-by-play category.

Personal life
Impemba and his wife Cathy are parents of two sons, Brett and Daniel. Brett was drafted in the 49th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the Detroit Tigers. The Impembas live in Macomb Township, Michigan.