Dave Wills, whose play-by-play radio calls accompanied the biggest moments in Tampa Bay Rays history, died Sunday morning in Florida, the team announced. He was 58.
Wills has been the Rays radio voice since 2005, his arrival nearly coinciding with the team’s rise to unlikely power despite its lower-revenue status. Wills chronicled the Rays’ World Series runs in 2008 and 2020, and had called their Grapefruit League exhibition game Saturday from Tampa.
“Dave was an outstanding broadcaster, a great friend and an even better person,” Rays owner Stuart Sternberg said in a statement released by the team. “He had a remarkable talent for bringing the game to life for our fans and was a vital part of the Rays family.
“We will miss him dearly and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Wills was part of a respected Rays radio crew that included Andy Freed and Neil Solondz. The group was voted best American League radio team in a survey by The Athletic two years ago.
Wills missed the last two weeks of the 2022 season after a medical scare on a road trip to Toronto and later was diagnosed with an erratic heartbeat that affects the heart’s upper chambers, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He did return to call the Rays’ division series at Cleveland.
His passing felt even more sudden for longtime colleagues who only Saturday worked alongside Wills on what would be his final broadcast. Rays radio reporter Neil Solondz called Wills “the big brother I didn’t have growing up.”
Longtime Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, now with Toronto, took a moment to remember the longtime radio voic.
The Rays canceled their radio broadcast of Sunday’s exhibition against Baltimore at Tropicana Field and will honor him before a game this season. Wills was married and had a son and a daughter, residing in Lutz, Florida, according to the club’s web site.
