Eric Nadel Didn't Plan Final Texas Rangers World Series Call, Title 'Meant to Be'

Texas Rangers long-time play-by-play announcer Eric Nadel didn't script his final call for Game 5 of the World Series.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Eric Nadel didn’t have a script this time.

The Baseball Hall-of-Fame play-by-play announcer and beloved voice of the Texas Rangers had one 12 years ago, when the Rangers were oh-so-close to winning their first World Series title in St. Louis.

Of course, that night became a nightmare for the Rangers, something of a scab that was picked at every October when another team held the World Series trophy up and Texas fans wondered what might have been.

Radio play-by-play announcer Eric Nadel has been calling Texas Rangers games for 45 years / Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

That is, until Wednesday in Phoenix, when the Rangers finally exorcised that memory and won the World Series.

Nadel said didn’t put much thought into what he wanted to say in Game 5. There were themes he knew he wanted to hit. But up until the ninth inning, it was a 1-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks. It looked as if it would come down to the final inning before the Rangers scored four, including a two-run blast by Marcus Semien.

So, Nadel had no script. But he had a few notes, one of which was that he wanted to make sure Rangers fans knew that they weren’t dreaming.

"The big thing I decided during the whole day (Wednesday) when I felt like I was in a dream leading up to Game 5, I thought, ‘People need to know this isn’t a dream,'" Nadel said. "So at some point I knew I was going to say, 'Rangers fans, you’re not dreaming.’ That was the one thing I planned."

He also wanted something to come across — the emotion of the moment.

“Clearly I was emotional,” Nadel said on Friday before the World Series parade in Arlington. “I didn’t know how emotional I would be.”

For Nadel, who has called Rangers games for 45 years, it’s been an unusual season. He wasn’t on the mic to start the year after stepping away due to his mental health. He was rarely seen in public around Globe Life Field, though he hosted his annual birthday concert in May.

In his place Matt Hicks and Jared Sandler handled primary play-by-play duties.

After the All-Star Break, he started doing practice games, keeping a low profile as he worked to ensure he was ready to return to the mic. He returned full-time on Aug. 4.

He returned to an incredible World Series run, one that saw the Rangers win every postseason road game and end the franchise’s wait for a world title.

After 45 years, Eric Nadel finally got to call the final out of a World Series.

Earlier that day, I sat down with Eric to talk about his life in broadcasting, a “bucket list” call, and his longtime broadcast partner, the late Mark Holtz.https://t.co/Cu0a4NquYS pic.twitter.com/aJB4s93Zhy

— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) November 4, 2023

"I’m just overwhelmed with joy," Nadel said. "I’m so happy for all of these people who have been so patient and so loyal for so long. And, just, my heart is just full and overflowing with emotion."

Nadel said he has only listened to his call a couple of times since Wednesday. He did so to find the right audio clip that could be matched to the video of the game on Fox, as friends and family members wanted his voice matched with the game footage.

Nadel’s voice, to many, is the soundtrack of Rangers baseball. One of his good friends, YES Network reporter Suzyn Waldman, reminded him on Thursday that this soundtrack will live on forever.

"She said, 'You know that call is going to be played over and over again? That is going to be part of your legacy,'" Nadel said. "And it will live on forever as the first Rangers World Series winning call, regardless of how many there are in the future. That’s the one that will get played the most and you’ll be hearing it over and over in the ballpark next year. I hadn’t really thought about that until I was on the way out here today."

As for that script, Nadel revealed what happened that night in 2011 during Game 6 and that now he can say the name David Freese without getting sick to his stomach.

“He (Freese) hit that ball to right field and it didn’t get caught,” Nadel said. “I crumpled up that paper and I threw it underneath the counter. And then Josh Hamilton hit that home run (in the 10th) and I crawled under the counter and retrieved the piece of paper, only to chuck it there again when Lance Berkman got that bloop single to tie the game in the 10th.

“This time, it all worked out. It was meant to be.”

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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