Jun 27, 2026 By Jerin Steele 6 min read

Over a decade ago, a 23-year-old Andrew Belleson found himself in the public address announcer’s booth at Wrigley Field.

His hand was ready to key up the mic, so his voice could boom from the loud speakers inside the friendly confines, while he read a script for the brass of the Chicago Cubs, who were listening intently.

Belleson, a Chicagoland native, was one of three people remaining hoping to get the job as the Cubs’ public address announcer out of thousands who had applied.

“I’ll never forget it was like two weeks before Opening Day that we were doing this,” Belleson said. “Most of the front office and some former players were in the stands listening to the last three of us. They had some say on who was going to be hired.

“There were around 4,000 people that applied, so why they chose me I’ll never know.”

Indeed, Belleson got the job and was the public address voice for the Cubs, the team he grew up rooting for. The gig that lasted for 10 years.

Now he’s trying to beat the odds again.

Belleson’s passion and ultimate dream has always been to be a play-by-play announcer. After some thought, he decided to resign as the Cubs’ PA announcer in 2021 and start a new journey in broadcasting.

That has led him to Washington this summer.

Belleson is the No.2 broadcaster for the Wild Things alongside longtime play-by-play announcer Kyle Dawson.

“I knew I wanted to be a play-by-play guy since I was little,” Belleson said. “I used to watch WGN and listen to Harry Carey and think …’that’s somebody’s job?’

“I was fortunate enough to do some other work for the club with the Marquee Sports Network and Cubs Productions. I did some hosting, which was fun, but I’ve always wanted to be behind the mic and call the game, so I stepped away, because that opportunity wasn’t going to be there.”

Voice of Wrigley

Belleson arrived in the Wrigley Field PA booth at pretty much the perfect time. The Cubs were on the verge of being competitive again, and in 2016 Belleson got to be on the mic for their World Series run.

He was there to see the Cubs break the Curse of the Billy Goat, when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 of the NLCS to advance to their first World Series since 1945.

The Cubs went on to beat Cleveland in seven games to capture their first World Series since 1908.

The win over the Dodgers was the most memorable moment of Belleson’s time working for the Cubs.

“The World Series was great, but my favorite series was when they beat the Dodgers in the NLCS with (Clayton) Kershaw on the mound,” Belleson said. “It was the game that got us to the World Series. My oldest daughter was with us. She was a little kid at the time. It was crazy.”

Starting over

When Belleson left the Cubs, he essentially restarted from scratch.

“Public address announcing and play-by-play don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand, so I pretty much had to start over my broadcasting career,” Belleson said.

To get his foot in the door last summer he applied to be an intern with the Rockford Rivets, a summer collegiate team in the Northwoods League.

Internships are typically reserved for students in college, but to build his resume Belleson, in his late 30s, was happy for the opportunity.

“I was joking with my wife about how my oldest daughter is 16 and last year I was working with a bunch of 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds,” Belleson said. “It was awesome. They would ask me a lot of questions, because I had a little bit more experience in the industry than they did, so I hope that I was able to teach them, but I also learned a lot from them.”

Belleson credited his wife, Lauren, and his children with being supportive forces as he pursues his dream.

“My wife and I have been together 16 years,” Belleson said. “I wouldn’t be anything without her, let alone a sports broadcaster. We have three kids, and she knew this was my dream. As hard as it was to leave Wrigley, I knew it wasn’t fulfilling to me. I told her what I wanted to do and she said, “We’re doing it.” She was 100% committed.”

Landing in Washington

Belleson’s goal was to get back into professional baseball this summer. He said he first interviewed with Dawson in the fall and was offered the job in the early spring.

“When he offered me this role, not only to work alongside him, but to be part of an organization with a culture and fan base like the Wild Things have, I was ecstatic,” Belleson said. “I couldn’t wait to get here.”

He does play-by-play for innings four, five and six, and serves as the color analyst the rest of the game.

He’s got to call a lot of winning baseball. The Wild Things have had a strong start and are in first place in the Frontier League’s Central Division.

“It’s a great park with a huge fan base,” Belleson said. “Kyle and I have a lot of the same views not only on how we handle ourselves in the booth, but about the game and in life. That helps, because you can’t fake charisma and camaraderie in the booth and I think we have that.”

Belleson and his family have relocated to Washington for the summer. They live in Florida during the offseason.

He is fully committed to making play-by-play his career and is hopeful that one day he could return to a major league stadium, but a couple doors down in the broadcast booth.

For now he’s enjoying his time with the Wild Things.

“One thing we didn’t realize before we came here was that this is really a beautiful part of the country,” Belleson said. “We’re fortunate to spend the summer here. It’s awesome.”