Jim Tocco is a former minor-league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 announcer who is now working in marketing. Tocco grew up in North Olmsted, Ohio

North Olmsted, Ohio

-Business:Moen Incorporated, a fixture and faucet company, is headquartered in North Olmsted. CommutAir, a regional airline, has its operations center in North Olmsted....

 and attended North Olmsted High School

North Olmsted City School District, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

North Olmsted City Schools is the public school district that serves the city of North Olmsted, Ohio, United States. As of 2005, 4,573 students attended its nine schools. The North Olmsted City School colors are orange and black. The mascot is the Eagle. The school's fight songs are Miami U ,...

 before moving on to Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...

, where he graduated with a B.A. in Journalism in 1998.

After stints with the Charleston (SC) RiverDogs

Charleston RiverDogs

The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Charleston, South Carolina. They play in the class A South Atlantic League and are an affiliate of the New York Yankees. Their home stadium is at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park...

, Wilmington (DE) Blue Rocks

Wilmington Blue Rocks

The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team located in Wilmington, Delaware. The Blue Rocks play in the Northern Division of the Carolina League.-Franchise history:...

, Charleston (WV) Alley Cats

West Virginia Power

This article is about the baseball team, for the electric utility serving southeast West Virginia from 1986-99, see Allegheny Energy.The West Virginia Power is a minor league baseball team of the South Atlantic League, and is the Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in...

, and Lansing (MI) Lugnuts

Lansing Lugnuts

The Lansing Lugnuts are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays, that plays in the Midwest League.The Midwest League came to Lansing, Michigan in 1996. The franchise began in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1955; after two seasons it moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where it...

 he was most recently the announcer for the Montgomery (AL) Biscuits

Montgomery Biscuits

The Montgomery Biscuits are a minor league baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. The team is the Class AA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and plays in the Southern League. The 2004 season was the team's first in Montgomery...

.

Tocco founded CalloftheGame.com in 2001 to serve as a medium for fellow broadcasting professionals to network within the industry

While with the Lugnuts, Tocco took on a blogger who disagreed with Tocco's assessment of Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

' prospect Felix Pie

Felix Pie

Félix Pie is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played for the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles.-Minor league career:...

 who played for the Lugnuts at the time. The blogger, Andy Dolan, had seen Pie play four times against the Beloit Snappers

Beloit Snappers

The Beloit Snappers are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, that plays in the Midwest League.Beloit joined the Midwest League as an expansion franchise in 1982. They were a Milwaukee Brewers farm team from its beginning through 2004; they switched to the...

 and believed Tocco's assessments were incorrect. After reading Dolan's opinion—which included an insult—two months after it had been published, Tocco responded with a letter. "You are way, way out of your league when talking about Cubs prospects, pal," he wrote. Tocco claimed that the fact he had seen Pie play 100 times in 2003 compared to Dolan's four qualified him as an expert.

In 2003 and 2004, Tocco served as a guest announcer for MLB's

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 Montreal Expos

Montreal Expos

The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

, and in 2006 was named the Southern League

Southern League (baseball)

The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , and shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams...

 Broadcaster of the year

In addition to baseball, Tocco's on-air credits include Division I college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

, basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

, hockey

College hockey

College hockey refers to ice hockey played between colleges with their teams composed of enrolled students. College hockey is played in Canada and the United States, though leagues outside of North America exist....

 and soccer

College soccer

College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

 as well as occasional work in the television and print media.

During the days of November 9 and November 10, 2006, Tocco and 2 others visited all 88 Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 counties in under 24 hours. Starting in Monroe County

Monroe County, Ohio

Monroe County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,642. Its county seat is Woodsfield and is named for James Monroe, Secretary of State when the county was formed and later President of the United States....

, the trio wound their way through the state, ending up in Preble County

Preble County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,337 people, 16,001 households, and 12,144 families residing in the county. The population density was 100 people per square mile . There were 17,186 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...

a mere 23 hours, 34 minutes and 34 seconds later.