Eric Nadel

Eric Nadel (born May 16, 1951) is an American sports announcer on radio broadcasts for the Texas Rangers baseball organization. In 2014, he was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Biography Nadel grew up in Brooklyn, New York, as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, though it was listening to a New York Yankees broadcast from Mel Allen and Red Barber that first sparked his interest in sportscasting when he was eight years old. He developed his skills at Brown University (class of 1972), announcing hockey and football games on radio station WBRU. Since becoming the primary play-by-play voice for the Rangers, Nadel has worked alongside Brad Sham, Vince Cotroneo, and Victor Rojas.

In May 2006, Nadel announced that he had signed a "lifetime contract" with the Rangers, allowing him to continue on their broadcast team until he chooses to retire. He later said that he hopes to outlive his contract. Beginning in 2009, he was partnered with longtime ESPN and former Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs announcer Dave Barnett, who also did Rangers games on television with Brad Sham in the late 80s and early 90s. After Barnett moved to television, former MLB pitcher Steve Busby was Nadel's partner. Since July 2012 after Busby replaced Barnett on television, Nadel has been joined by Matt Hicks in the radio booth. Rangers games are now primarily on 105.3 The Fan, which has been the Rangers' flagship station since the 2015 season. At the conclusion of the 2018 season, Nadel joined a handful of broadcasters to call Major League Baseball games for 40 years, with the added distinction of calling all of them for one franchise. Among Nadel's most memorable calls was the 5000th strikeout of Nolan Ryan's career on August 22, 1989. His main home run call is "That ball is history!" Both he and Public Address (PA) announcer Chuck Morgan have been affectionately referred to as "the Voice of the Texas Rangers".

The arrival of Rubén Sierra in Texas motivated Nadel to learn Spanish. Nadel is now a fluent Spanish speaker, having taken part in Spanish-language game broadcasts in a number of Latin American countries.

Nadel took a leave of absence through the first 109 games of the 2023 season, in order to seek treatment for anxiety, depression, and insomnia. He returned to the booth in August, and called the Rangers' first World Series win that November.

Awards

In 1991, Nadel was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame. He has received the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Texas Sportscaster of the Year Award seven times (1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) and won the Associated Press award for Best Play-by-Play in Texas three times. On August 11, 2012, Nadel became the 15th member inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.

On December 11, 2013, Nadel was selected as the 2014 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award, presented annually for excellence in broadcasting by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. in 1987.