Tommy Hutton, the longest tenured and most popular television analyst in Marlins history, said Monday that the 2026 season will be his final one in the broadcast booth.
Hutton will finish his career having been involved in Marlins broadcasts for 27 the team’s 34 seasons (including 23 in the broadcast booth) –- first from 1997 through 2015 (after he was hired to replace original Marlins TV analyst Gary Carter) and again from 2022 through 2025. His return was widely applauded by fans years after he was dropped for reasons that were never publicly explained either to him or to viewers.
“It’s just time,” he said this week of the decision to step away after this season. “My health is fine. The bottom line in my mind is it’s time. I turn 80 in April and figured that would be a nice round number to end my career.”
Hutton – who built a home at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens 41 years ago and has lived there ever since – will work 60 games this season alongside Kyle Sielaff, sharing TV analyst duties with Jeff Nelson and Gaby Sanchez.
“Calling Marlins games and being part of this community has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Hutton said. “I’m deeply grateful to the fans, players, coaches, and everyone who has supported me all these years.
“Being a part of two world championship teams were great. I had great partners – with Joe Angel, Dave O’Brien, Len Kasper, Rich Waltz, Paul Severino and Kyle Sielaff. I hope I taught them something and learned things from them.”
Hutton’s conversational style, humor and willingness to criticize made him a fan favorite during his initial 17-year run alongside Angel, O’Brien, Kasper and Waltz.
But that ended when Fox Sports and the Marlins unceremoniously dumped Waltz and Hutton just before Thanksgiving in 2015, after 19 seasons.
“I was shocked and hurt,” he said several years ago. “Your ego takes a hit. There were moments that it lingered, and I tried to move on because we’ve got our family around. At the time, our first grandchild was really young and I bonded with her and now I’ve got three granddaughters.”
According to sources, then-Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria was bothered by a few things with Hutton, including Hutton talking about other teams’ players too much, in Loria’s eyes, and Hutton mentioning a few flaws in the the ballpark, including the pitcher-friendly dimensions.
Sources also cited Fox’s desire to cut salary as a factor in 2015, but Hutton said he hadn’t even spoken about money with Fox at the time. He said he never confirmed speculation that a few players were sensitive to his criticism and complained about it.
In recent days, Hutton admitted he “took pleasure reading some of the things fans had to say” after he was dropped. “That softened the blow. It was devastating.”
But Hutton wisely never burned bridges. The new Marlins ownership got the message that fans missed him and encouraged Fox to rehire him for a studio role in 2018.
“I truly thank Bruce Sherman and his group, [team president/business operations] Caroline O’Connor, and Derek Jeter was there at the time, for bringing me back,” he said this week.
After working in that studio role for four seasons, Hutton reached out to Bally executives after learning that Todd Hollandsworth wasn’t being retained as the team’s TV analyst after the 2021 season.
Hutton told them “if you’re interested in an old veteran to fill in for some games, I would be interested.”
Bally called with an offer a few weeks later, and Hutton has worked 50 to 55 games each of the past three seasons, with almost all of the games at loanDepot Park.
His 60 games this season – plus spring training games on March 16 and 22 – will be his most since calling nearly all of the games in 2015.
FanDuel Sports vice president/executive producer Brett Opdyke has said that “Tommy in my opinion is one of the best analysts in baseball. He’s always prepared. He can speak to multiple levels: pitching, hitting, fielding. That comes from him being that utility player. Explaining why managers make moves, he offers all of that.”
Asked how he wants to be remembered, Hutton said: “I didn’t really think about it that much until I was let go… I’ve always been honest. I know I haven’t been a homer, but I’ve been honest and I guarantee people know who I wanted to win. A successful broadcast is if someone learned something about the game and had a couple of laughs… Every once in a while, I would let it go. A rant is good for the soul.”
Hutton, who grew up in Los Angeles, played first base and the outfield over a 12-year career with the Dodgers, Phillies, Blue Jays and Expos. In 952 games, Hutton hit .248 with 22 homers, 186 RBI and a .995 field percentage.
A few years after his playing career ended in 1981, Hutton became a TV analyst, working with ESPN, the Yankees, Expos and Blue Jays before the Marlins hired him to replace Carter.
“Tommy has been the voice of Marlins baseball for an entire generation of fans in South Florida,” Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said. “Across a 61-year professional baseball career, including 12 seasons as a Major League player and more than 40 years in broadcasting, he has represented the game with authenticity, insight, and integrity. His impact on this franchise and this community is lasting. We are proud to celebrate his extraordinary career alongside our fans.”
Hutton made the announcement at the team’s facility in Jupiter, and Waltz joined via FaceTime. “Congratulations, man,” Waltz said. “You’ve been the best ambassador for Marlins baseball in South Florida for the longest time.”
Injury updates
Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers is expected to miss a week or two with a strained right hamstring….
Left-handed pitcher Thomas White, the Marlins’ top prospect and MLB.com’s No. 17 overall prospect, is expected to miss three or four weeks with a Grade 1 right oblique strain….
Aiva Arquette, the Marlins’ 2025 first-round draft pick and one of the sport’s top shortstop prospects, underwent core muscle surgery on Friday and won’t resume baseball activities for four to six weeks. He told MLB.com that he sustained a groin injury during offseason workouts in Hawaii and continued to experience discomfort during the first two weeks of spring training.
This story was originally published March 2, 2026 at 12:04 PM.
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.