Longtime Texas Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel missed the first 109 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season to focus on his mental health. After receiving treatment for anxiety, insomnia and depression, the Rangers announced that the Hall of Fame radio voice would be returning to the club’s radio network on Friday, as Texas played host to the Miami Marlins.
The Rangers are very happy to announce that Hall of Fame broadcaster Eric Nadel returns to the air on the club’s radio network TONIGHT when Texas hosts Miami at 7:05 pm. He has missed the entire 2023 season while addressing mental health issues. Welcome back, Eric!
— John Blake (@RangerBlake) August 4, 2023
“I am delighted to be back on the air tonight and am eternally grateful to the Rangers’ ownership and management for their patience, understanding, and generosity,” Nadel said Friday, via the Dallas Morning News. “A huge thank you to my broadcast partners for making it possible for me to take the time I needed. And my heart goes out to all the Rangers fans for their love, support, and prayers.”
In Nadel’s absence, the Rangers’ radio booth was occupied by announcers Matt Hicks and Jared Sandler.
The 72-year-old announcer joined the Rangers in 1979 and became their lead radio voice in 1995, signing a lifetime contract with the team in 2006. He was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2012, and in 2014, Nadel was honored with the Ford C. Frick Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Nadel and Hicks have been paired together in the booth since 2012, with Sandler serving as the studio host and backup play-by-play announcer.
Nadel issued a statement back in March, explaining his decision to step away from the booth to receive treatment:
“As many of you know, for years I have been an advocate for those with mental health issues,” Nadel wrote in his statement. “I now find myself dealing with anxiety, insomnia and depression which are currently preventing me from doing the job I love. So, I regret to say I will not be in the broadcast booth when the season starts.
“I am receiving treatment as I go through the healing process and encourage others with similar issues to reach out for help.
I am tremendously grateful to Matt [Hicks] and Jared [Sandler] for the superb job they are doing in my absence. Rangers’ management has been wonderful to me. I thank them for their concern, kindness and understanding. Rangers’ fans have always given me tremendous support, and I ask for their continued support at this time and in the future.”
We’re certainly glad that Nadel was deemed able to return to the broadcast booth amid a pennant race. Beginning on Friday, he’ll be on the call for the Rangers’ remaining 53 regular season games.
PSA: If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and needs help, the National Suicide and Crisis Hotline can be reached at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
[John Blake on Twitter, Dallas Morning News]
