Cubs newest Public Address Announcer Jeremiah Paprocki brings more than just talent to Wrigley Field booth
May 10, 2022
CHICAGO — A perfect upper-deck view of the grassy field, ivy-covered brick walls, iconic manual center-field scoreboard, and the entire diamond. Everything is visible from the bleacher-bums to the fans on the high rooftops. It’s the view from the booth of one of the most historic landmarks in Chicago, Wrigley Field. Now it’s home of the newest public address announcer of the Cubs, Jeremiah Paprocki.
Paprocki’s process to get that new home started unexpectedly for him. He was working a UIC Flames Volleyball match when he discovered news that would change his life. The former Chicago Cubs P.A announcer was stepping down. A couple weeks later, the job position officially opened for Paprocki as he was on spring break in Miami.
“Funny enough a friend on Facebook, who’s also an announcer, was like ‘Hey the application is open.’ I was like, ‘Oh I was about to go to the beach, but here I am putting a Cubs application together,” said Paprocki.
It wasn’t an easy task for Paprocki to get the gig. It started with a virtual interview, which he thought was the best interview he’s ever done. After feeling confident about that, he received an email for the next step. A live audition at the ballpark.
“So here I am, super stoked, because this lifelong Cubs fan, now gets his voice behind the mic, at least once in his lifetime, even if it’s just for an audition,” he exclaimed.
Despite how nerve wracking a live audition for your dream job can be, the 21-year-old felt confident. He treated his interview and audition just like another day on the job for him. After all, he’d been announcing for a long time through high school and now college.
“That day came and I was super nervous, but super excited,” Paprocki said. “They took me up to the booth and once they were ready to record and go, I just locked in as if it was the actual game, which I had been preparing for years. That went good, but I might have had a slight hiccup in the nerves.”
In just over a month, the process went from thousands of applicants to just Paprocki in a final group of eight candidates. After the interview process, he gained even more confidence knowing the interest the Cubs had in him. Coming out of the final audition, he had no doubt he was the best in the booth that day.
“With any pro job that comes out I’m like ‘I can definitely do this,’'' Paprocki said. “I mean this is what I do. I’m a P.A announcer. All the training at Northtown and UIC definitely trained me for any moment. Now live audition, you’re like ‘I got this.’”
Getting his dream job is full circle for a lifelong Cubs fan born and raised in Chicago. Paprocki has been going to Cubs games since he was just two months old, when his mother worked at Wrigley as a parking attendant. Two decades later, going to Wrigley Field for every home game and living out a dream is surreal every time he arrives for his job.
“Every time you get there, you get chills like, how did I get so lucky to be here?” Paprocki reflected. “It’s a view like no other, that’s for sure.”
It’s not just the view of the second oldest baseball field that sparks chills through Paprocki. The booth has seen a lot of history, where so many before him have made their mark. Now he tries to make his.
“Knowing how much history has gone up in that booth as well, it definitely crosses my mind once in a while,” he said.
Paprocki has already made his own history by breaking barriers, becoming both the youngest and first African-American P.A announcer in Cubs history.
When Paprocki first started, he was still studying to get his communications degree at University of Illinois Chicago, making it hard to balance his work-class life. His solution? Take some online classes from the Wrigley Field booth at times.
“It was horrible,” Paprocki chuckled. “The view was great of course. But if you’re preparing for a Cubs game, that’s kind of all you want to do. You’re going through the motions basically and you have stuff that’s due at night, and you’re like ‘Ah well, I got a 6:40 game, something is due at 11:59. How am I gonna balance these two?’”
On some instances I’d literally have my P.A script, half screen, and blackboard half screen – one eye on the game, one eye on the laptop,” Paprocki said.
It was a relief for Paprocki once he graduated in December and was able to focus completely on his career as an announcer. He can now take all the time he needs to prepare for the game.
“Being at Wrigley and just having that early access is special,” said Paprocki. "When there’s downtime, it’s an empty ballpark, and there is nothing going on. You just get to sit there and take it all in. Kind of helps me settle in before going on the mic.”
When it comes to gametime, Paprocki likes to take inspiration from plenty of great announcers before him such as Tommy Edwards of the Chicago Bulls, who took Paprocki under his wing a few times at Bulls games. When he was a young boy, Paprocki garnered a love for sports and announcing from watching the iconic Bulls intros voiced by Edwards at the United Center.
“The best way to explain it is, certain ballplayers get their craft from a past ballplayer,” said Paprocki. “That kind of goes with any sport. The game is influenced but those currently or those before us. Same with announcing.”
The 22-year old now has his own recognizable booming voice like the Tommy Edwards of the world, and he’s used it to his advantage. However, to his peers, Paprocki’s talent doesn’t overshadow his kindness and personality. While his voice and tall stature may light up a room, his character is what shines.
“He knows that being kind to people is the best thing to have in the business and he just maximizes it,” said Cubs organist John Benedeck.
Benedeck sits next to Paprocki every day, and they’re sort of each other’s right-hand man. Benedeck loves how Paprocki keeps the job loose for him every game, and Paprocki isn’t embarrassed by his fun goofy personality.
“I was filming a segment that I do during the game where people pay to put messages on the board and I usually play a song during it,” said Benedick. “In the video, you see Jeremiah leave the booth, and then come back and he’s got two brownies and a bag of hot Cheetos, and he waves them. There’s a youthful nature about him where he's kind of a goofball. I love that.”
Paprocki in short-time has already made an impact on the Wrigley community. Good news for Cubs fans: he said he could see himself doing this for a long time. But he’s also not against opportunities in other areas in the media should they arise.
“This is obviously a dream job. I mean who wants to get rid of something like this? Who wouldn’t want to be the voice of Wrigley as long as possible?” Paprocki said. “I’m always the type of person who likes to keep leveling up, no matter where I’m at. I can’t speak for the future, but I’d like to add things on top of the Cubs and try new things.”
Paprocki also has dreams of hosting a late-night show after he hosted one inspired by Jimmy Kimmel at UIC. But he also expressed interest in announcing television or radio sportscasts and even being a news anchor.
“I like to talk,” said Paprocki. “Anything that still revolves around media, being a voice, on camera, off camera, I’m not opposed to it.”
As of right now, Paprocki is shining as one of Wrigley’s stars. Wherever his future takes him, the work ethic and kind personality will be sure to follow.