ST. LOUIS – It was a historic night on Monday when the Cardinals and Brewers took the field, but not for anything either team did.
History was being made in the commentating booth of Polo Ascencio and Bengie Molina as the two men broadcast the first Cardinals game on television in Spanish.
“For the first time in St. Louis, it means a lot,” said Oscar Medina, a Cardinals fan.
Medina is Mexican-American and works at Taqueria Hectorito on Cherokee Street. He said he always watched Cardinals games in English, occasionally translating the calls to his Mexican grandparents.
“I’d be watching the game sometime, and they don’t know what’s going on,” Medina said.
Viewers were able to switch to the Spanish broadcast through the second audio program button on their remotes and will continue to have that option through the rest of the season and playoffs during home games.
“It’s going to be very nice now that we have that option to see it together, so I don’t have to translate,” Medina said.
For Polo Ascencio, it’s a big step. He started calling games in Spanish for the Cardinals in 2016 as an experiment.
“To know that somebody like me is going to be anywhere you want around St. Louis with Bally Sports Midwest and be able to listen to me in Spanish, that means a lot,” Ascencio said.
Ascensio said he hopes that one day every Cardinals pitch will be called in Spanish, and not just the home games.
