A 21-year-old Jon Sciambi stood behind the bar at Mary Ann’s in Cleveland Circle handing drinks to an ever-growing crowd of eager Boston College students. Each glass he put down stuck slightly to the perpetually wet countertop of the dive bar, and as usual, Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten shuffled through the jukebox. 

But Sciambi, who bartended part-time to earn some extra cash while he was a student, didn’t mind the sticky counters, the smell, or the repetitive music—to this day, Ten is one of his favorite albums. The job was just part of a BC experience that would provide him with a host of opportunities unavailable anywhere else.

Sciambi had come to BC with the intent to play baseball, but after he was cut from the team (more on that later), he turned to other pastimes, such as bartending or hosting a weekly sports talk show with his two best friends on WZBC. One of those pastimes quickly blossomed into a full-blown career, and it wasn’t because he could pour the perfect Green Monster. 

After graduating from BC in 1992, Sciambi went on to become one of the most recognizable voices in play-by-play calling for professional baseball. In his career, he has worked as the radio voice of the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves, and has worked full-time for ESPN since 2010. 

What Sciambi’s resume lacked, however, was working in a town where baseball has flowed through the veins of every resident for the last 150 years. Earlier this month, though, Sciambi found just that when he accepted one of America’s most coveted jobs as the TV play-by-play commentator for the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. 

“When you look at the signature franchises in baseball, you’re talking about the Yankees, the Dodgers, the Red Sox, and the Cubs,” Sciambi said. “[Chicago] has always been one of the special places to go broadcast the game. Baseball matters there.”