"All I've ever wanted in my career is to be the TV or radio voice of a major-league baseball team," Neely said. "Now I have the chance."

Neely is the new TV voice of Padres, taking over for Matt Vasgersian, who left for the anchor desk of the new MLB Network this past offseason.

Neely's maiden voyage on Channel 4 is at noon Saturday when the Padres host the A's in the first of five spring games on Channel 4.

Those games will serve as a warmup to Channel 4's 150-game Padres schedule.

"I really want to get this first one out of the way, get in the flow," Neely said. "Five games isn't a lot, but I'm really glad we're doing that many so I can get in a rhythm with Mark Grant."

Grant, who is in his 13th season with Channel 4, is known for his on-air humor.

And while Neely has worked major-league games for ESPN and football and basketball for the Big Ten Network, he has never worked with a regular partner.

Likewise, while working his way through minor-league baseball ---- the last 12 seasons as the radio voice of the Double-A Tulsa Drillers ---- he has never worked with a regular analyst.

"Mark and I are going to step on each other in these early games," Neely said. "That's only natural. We need to get our pacing. We need to learn each other. I've met Mark, and he seems to be a terrific guy. Everyone says he really knows the game and has a great sense of humor.

"I need to learn that. Eventually, though, we will get it."

Neely was one of hundreds of broadcasters ---- from veteran big-league voices, to minor-leaguers ---- who applied for the Padres job.

Dennis Morgigno, station manager at Channel 4, said Neely's knowledge of the game, forged through two decades in the minors, as well as his experience with ESPN and the Big Ten Network set him apart.

"No question, ESPN and the Big Ten helped me," Neely said. "I feel it was one of those 'you-have-to-have-a-job-before-you-can-get-a-job deals.' Before ESPN and the Big Ten, I was a minor-league broadcaster. Once ESPN and the Big Ten popped up on my resume, I was viewed differently."

Before he got the Padres job, Neely had already informed the Tulsa club he wouldn't be back for a 13th season.

Despite his love for baseball, he felt that his time away at the networks was detracting from his radio work.

"I never questioned my ability," Neely said. "But there are so few major-league jobs that you wonder if you'll ever get a chance.

"The Padres was the only TV job that opened this year, so you can see there isn't much turnover. These are good jobs and people tend to keep them for years.

"Getting a major-league play-by-play job is a tough nut to crack."

Without the new MLB Network luring Vasgersian away, Neely knows the Padres job never would have come open.

"And I want to say a great, big thank you to them," Neely said. "I've done 2,000 or more minor-league games, so I feel I'm ready for this. Radio is different from TV. On radio, you're the eyes and ears of the fans. On radio, you create the picture for the fans. On TV, you're more of a traffic cop. Basically, you caption the pictures. You let the picture and sounds tell the story. The minor leagues are a great training ground. They taught me the day-in, day-out grind of the game.

"The minor leagues showed me how to prepare."

Despite not being on the air until Sunday, Neely was in the Padres spring camp all last week, watching games, watching players, getting to know people.

He flew to Indianapolis on Wednesday and called three women's basketball games Thursday in the Big Ten tournament and will call two more games Friday.

Then he'll board a flight for Phoenix on Friday night and return to the Padres' Peoria complex early Saturday morning.

"We'll make some mistakes early," Neely said. "Our timing may be off a bit. But I'm so much looking forward to getting started.

"I bumped into Len Kasper (TV voice of the Cubs) the other day, and he congratulated me on getting the job, told me how good Mark Grant is, told me I'll do fine. That was awfully nice of him.

"Now I hope he's right."