New York native Eric Nadel has been one of the radio voices of Texas Rangers baseball since 1979.
Following 35 years of calling Rangers games from the radio booth, Eric Nadel will be honored next summer as the 2014 recipient of the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting excellence, given annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
Nadel, a Brooklyn native who grew up rooting for the Dodgers, graduated from Brown University in 1972 and began his broadcasting career as a radio announcer for minor-league hockey and professional women’s basketball games.
He joined the Rangers in 1979 and handled both radio and television duties for three seasons, but Nadel moved to the radio side for good starting in 1982, the same year he was joined on the microphone by veteran Mark Holtz.
“I think he saved me as a baseball announcer,” Nadel said of the late Holtz, who lost his battle with leukemia in 1997. “He was a great role model for me to follow. I learned a lot from him. He had done a lot of minor-league baseball … and I was able to copy a lot of things that he did.”
From ’82 through ‘94, Holtz and Nadel formed a successful radio tandem while describing the (mostly) bad Texas clubs on the field, although the poor quality of play did not dictate the mood in the booth.
“For all those years when the Rangers were bad, the job was still fun,” Nadel said. “Some of the games were irrelevant – a lot of the games were irrelevant – but they’re still Major League Baseball games.”
It would not be until 1996, a year after Holtz had moved over to the television booth and Nadel was given lead radio duties, that Texas made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and the Rangers went on to win the A.L. West division crown two out of the next three years as well.
More than a decade later, in 2010, Nadel was at the mic when Neftali Feliz struck out former Ranger Alex Rodriguez to clinch the A.L. pennant and send Texas to its first World Series.
“The way the stadium exploded with joy, it was so emotional, maybe the most emotional moment of my life,” he said. “I’ll never forget that … It was very satisfying to see Rangers fans finally get rewarded for their endurance and their loyalty over the years and all that they had been through.”
Nadel, who is already a member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame (1991) and the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame (2012), will receive his Frick award during the National Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies next July in Cooperstown.
“It’s a logical award for someone that deserves it,” said former big-league outfielder and current Rangers TV color analyst Tom Grieve. “He has put so much into his job. I’ve often said to myself, ‘No matter how hard I try to do my job, there’s no way I could put as much into it as he does.’”
Texas Signs Kouzmanoff, Others to Deals
Last Thursday the ballclub announced that it had signed four players to minor-league contracts which include invitations to spring training – third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, utility man Brent Lillibridge, shortstop John Wilson and right-hander Armando Rodriguez.
Only Rodriguez has yet to record any big-league experience, as the other three have each logged at least semi-regular playing time in the majors over the past few seasons.
Kouzmanoff has achieved the most sustained success of the group, averaging more than 18 home runs across a four-year span while a member of the Padres (2007-09) and Athletics (2010).
Lillibridge had spent a good portion of his career with the While Sox before being dealt to Boston in exchange for Kevin Youkilis last summer, and Wilson has already seen big-league service time with no fewer than seven different organizations.
In addition, right-hander Justin Germano agreed to a minor-league deal on Wednesday. Germano got into just one game for the Blue Jays last season, spending most of the year as a starter at Triple-A Buffalo.
Wolf Released, Heads to Korea
Right-handed pitcher Ross Wolf was given his unconditional release last Friday so that he could sign with the SK Wyverns of the Korean Baseball Organization.
In 22 games with Texas this season (including three starts), the 31-year-old Wolf posted an earned run average of 4.15 while earning his first major-league victory against three losses.
Wolf had previously appeared in a total of 25 big-league games for the Marlins and Athletics in 2007 and 2010, respectively.
Nate's Notes 
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