The MLB Rangers removed John Rhadigan as their “television play-by-play voice Thursday, effective immediately, after only seven weeks on the job,” according to Jeff Wilson of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. Dave Barnett, who “has shared the radio booth with Eric Nadel and filled in for Rhadigan on days off,” will broadcast Friday’s game against the Royals on KTXA-Ind. alongside analyst Tom Grieve. The changes, which include Bryan Dolgin and Steve Busby “filling Barnett's vacancy on the radio side, will remain in place for the rest of the season.” Wilson notes even though he “had no previous play-by-play experience, Rhadigan was signed to a three-year contract in the off-season to replace Josh Lewin” (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/27). Rangers Exec VP/Communications John Blake said, "It just didn’t seem like it was going in the right direction." Rhadigan, who will return to host the Rangers' pre- and postgame coverage on FS Southwest, said, "I enjoyed the opportunity. The Rangers gave me a chance of a lifetime. I wanted to do the job for 20 years." In Dallas, Barry Horn writes Rhadigan's stint as the Rangers' play-by-play voice "was a long shot that went bust." The short trial "wasn’t fair to Rhadigan," who had no play-by-play experience, "or Rangers viewers." After working two decades in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, Rhadigan had "earned a reputation as a consummate pro and a swell guy that muffled much early criticism." But as this season progressed, he "was being referred to around town as 'Bad Again.'" Horn notes it was recently ousted Rangers CEO & Managing General Partner Chuck Greenberg "who pushed Rhadigan for the play-by-play job" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/27).
NEVER GIVEN A CHANCE: Rhadigan said that the Rangers "gave him no specific reason for the change." He said, "They said that there was a lot of negative feedback and that the learning curve was just too great to overcome" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 5/27). Earlier this week, Rhadigan expressed "how much more comfortable he was feeling in this new role." In Ft. Worth, Mac Engel wrote that the Rangers "would not give this guy a full season, much less to the All-Star break, to settle into this role is another piece of evidence that absolutely no one in electronic media has any time to impress anyone." Rhadigan was "not a HOF broadcaster, but who is going to get the time to build the credentials to become one any more?" Engel: "I'm not saying Rhadigan was great. I'm not saying he was bad. The Texas Rangers knew Rhadigan had no experience doing this job, and to think he was going to 'nail it' in less than two months is preposterous" (STAR-TELEGRAM.com, 5/26). In Houston, David Barron writes while a "lot of people questioned the wisdom of hiring Rhadigan," it is "even more questionable that he's being let go 50 games into his first season." Baseball is "arguably the most difficult game to call on TV." Barron: "Rhadigan was, essentially, set up to fail" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 5/27).
