Some Bad News From Your Texas Rangers: Josh Lewin Won't Be Back in the Booth Next Summer

By Robert Wilonsky Mon., Oct. 11 2010 at 2:41 PM

Categories: Media, Sports

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Me, I'm all set for the Texas Rangers to exit the post-season tomorrow -- heartbreak and frustration and despair are prerequisites for being a lifelong fan of a franchise yet to sniff a post-season series win. So, then, I consider this release just in from Arlington a head start to unhappiness: Tom Grieve's been given a three-year re-up on his broadcast contract as the Rangers' teevee analyst, but he'll be bidding a sorrowful shalom to his partner of nine years, the great, profoundly pop-cultured Josh Lewin.

"After several discussions over the last few months, the Texas Rangers and Josh Lewin have agreed to end their relationship and move ahead in different directions," says Nolan Ryan in the release. "As a result, Josh will not be returning as the Rangers television announcer in 2011. We wish Josh the very best for the future."

To which Josh responds thusly: "I would like to thank the Rangers for nine wonderful years. I respect the team's leadership and vision and wish them nothing but the best as well."

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Tom Grieve has the most boring voice in baseball. Talk about nepotism, the wrong guy was let go!
shit happens. I am going to miss Josh. Yeah, the chemistry in the booth was quirky. But, he did bring something to the table. I really find it hard to believe that it had to do with the style of his broadcast, but more to do with job conflicts. I might be wrong, but I will give the owners the benefit of the doubt. I disagree that Nadel would be a good double broadcast. As has been mentioned earlier, he has no interest in doing TV and the presentations are entirely different. Radio has to be the theater of the mind and TV announcers sometimes need to shut up and let the play happen. Josh did a good job of balancing an excitement for the game with letting the game come to him. I'll miss him if we get somebody that flat out sucks next year. I wouldn't mind Buzz being play by play, but I wonder if he wants that task. Ralph has mentioned more than once the difficulty of doing both presentations simultaneously, I think we might underrate their ability to pull of that stunt. One of the few dark spots in this season. Oh yeah, Beat the damnyankees. Go Rangers.
We'll just have to do it like we did in the mid 80's. Mute the tv and turn on the stereo.
Nooo! Josh was the best thing for Ranger ball and their fans. This is your 20- and 30-something TV viewing audience now exiting.... I will now become a postseason-only fan like the "all of a sudden" Rangers fans. Ugh. Thanks, Nolan.
Barry Horn wrote an article on this, and here's a couple paragraphs from it from the Dallas News site: "Know this: The parting did not happen Monday. The Rangers told Lewin he was finished before the end of the regular season. If you watched his final broadcast, he almost told you so when he thanked viewers for the time they had spent watching. He sounded sad. The Rangers said Lewin asked them to wait. They said they obliged until now but want broadcasters around the country to know their switchboard is open and they are accepting applications. They don't want a good one to get away." Unbelievable. This is VERY disappointing and I am stunned Nolan and the Rangers could be so clueless. What a cold, classless move by the Rangers. As great a season this has been, this leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Additionally, Horn says Eric Nadel says he doesn't want to leave the radio booth. It is reassuring and great to see so many positive comments for Josh, and to echo what someone else said earlier, I also have the MLB Extra Innings package, and believe me the Rangers were lucky to have Josh and Tom in the booth. Most of the announcers dull you to sleep, so to have both Josh and Tom (and I'll throw-in the polarizing Knoxy too!) we have been very fortunate. Sorry to Dave Barnett but that is major snoresville if he takes over and quite frankly it will be difficult to replace someone with the humor and energy of Josh. Good luck to Josh Lewin, never given his full due here, but hopefully he'll see these comments and know that he had a lot of fans. We'll miss you, Josh!
All I can say is.....this will significantly affect my enjoyment of watching the games. Very few people on this earth can make something entertaining for 3 hours every night for 6 consecutive months, but Josh was one of those people. If people aren't entertained, they simply aren't going to be watching as much. It's as simple as that. Viewership will, therefore, decline. You've GOT to keep it entertaining. I used to watch every single game. Probably not anymore, because whoever is picked is likely not going to have a sense of humor and won't have Josh's energy. This is a VERY bad decision.
Bradford's makes a good point -- the missus likewise enjoyed Josh, so much so she stopped down to watch plenty of games.
Hate to say it, but that J. Lew is one strange bird. His strange mannerisms and quirky head movements creeped me out. He's like a cross between some weird little kid and a chicken.
There's a reason Josh gets the call up for weekend national games on Fox, and the Chargers job, and there was a reason he was a great fill-in for Ralph a few years ago. He's that good. For most people, the early money's on this being a Nolan call. Of course, it's just as likely to be a Chuck call. If so, and it's about style and not conflicts with the other jobs, then it's a misstep. The guy helps us get through the shit years, and now that the Rangers are on the verge of perennial contender status, he's being dumped? I'm very anxious to know the real reason.
@mr.perfect; agree completely..if Josh didn't have the Supercharger gig would they of been hardasses on a new contact? I'm pissed about this, change for the sake of change...sucks balls! There, I said it. The only other person IIIIIII want to hear in the box w Tom would be Eric. If that isn't the plan then sign freaking Josh..dammit!
This is horrible news. I took MLB Extra Innings over this past baseball season and I listened to all the other announcers all over the American League. I can honestly say that our guys, especially Josh Lewin, were far and away the best. All the other guys were boring and put you to sleep. Josh was VERY entertaining and had a great mind and sense of humor. You need that over 162 games, otherwise, you get rather bored. I really HATE this news. Nolan, if you were on board with letting Josh get away, this is one of your first BIG mistakes. This man CANNOT be replaced....not with anyone close to his skills, ability, talent and intellect. You messed up on this one, buddy. But there's still time to correct it. The last thing we want to do is bring in Steve Busby or the boring guy on the radio. Busby got old way back when he did Ranger games, and I don't want that again. And please, no Victor Rojas types. Just get Josh back, Nolan. This is an awful mistake. He's the best in the business.
Gagree w the merkin, Barnett is unlistenable..It'll pobably be Busby. I liked Busby as a fill in for Josh, but I'll be doing some figuring on how to simulcast EricN in lieu of JLew..pouring out a 40 for ya brother..stay soooo freaking hard Josh!
I must say I will miss josh, he was always up to date on pop culture yet thrived on bringing small baseball history tidbits throughout the game. Lets hope we dont get drab and dull dave barnett. I cant stand listening to the innings he calls play by play on the radio. Nadel should have pushed him out of the booth window this year. Lets just pray that we get someone who works well with Tom and makes the broadcasts half as interesting as Josh and Tom did.
This is bad news. Josh and Tom are great together. Josh will be missed.
As someone who acquired a taste for Josh four minutes after I caught him for the first time, I've got to say this is a home run for bland, corporate sports. The Rangers deserve better.
This is a big loss I think. People who hat Josh should actually see what dreck is out there in other cities! Now - Barnett is completely un-listenable, Nadel is in my Top 4( along with Scully, Lon Simmons, and John Miller (but only when he was with the Orioles)
Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax to Josh Lewin. We will remember you, Josh Lewin.
The ballyhoo from the big cheese says I'm next big six in the catbird seat. So put on the lamb chops for the old dipsy-doodle as me and the swell keep the clam dip squared to the corn in the can and the bug in the rug.
Josh was very, very good and he had crap-tastic Ranger play to do it with. Not a good development and it foredooms Game 5 failure tomorrow night.
Maybe this finally opens up the booth for Knoxy!
I can still remember the night i tuned into a Rangers game and Mark Holtz wasn't there, Grieve didn't say anything at the time but you just had a bad feeling because Holtz never missed games, turned out he had leukemia of course which is what led to Lewin coming in a couple years later. I always thought Lewin did a good job and was a fun ying to Grieves more serious yang.
We'll miss you, Josh! Thank you for the great broadcasting and it's too bad the team just starts to get good as soon as you're leaving. I'll miss the talking to Tom about Entourage and other TV show moments.
My thoughts: I'll miss Josh. I think baseball is hard because there are so many games and so much down time. Sure there were times when you may have been whipped by his pop culture references, etc. but I thought he did a great job. There's a lot I'm going to miss about him. Plus I like having the same guys doing the games year after year. I like when you hear a voice and immediately think of that team. You don't want the radio to be a simulcast of the TV. Only reason Stars do it is because the radio contract isn't worth enough $$$ to justify hiring radio only guys. You need different things from TV and radio. Sometimes TV guys can shut up and let the picture tell the story. Radio has to always be talking. I hope the Ranger karma starts turning around. After this weekend and Josh news today the momentum trains needs to turn around. I can't take another DFW team blowing a 2-0 lead in the playoffs.
Another reason why Josh was greatness: he worked it blue! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44tEr0l2Fw8 ("No shit"!...near the end of the audio) Gordo also claimed Josh let out a F-bomb a few weeks back but I'm not sure the audio was ever posted, hahahaha.
Two Josh highlights among many: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUitLu-3Ij0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-F5YvuSMmI
I've never understood the flack Josh got here. He was original and unique when most baseball announcers are dull and dry. I liked the savvy, pop culture awareness he brought to the booth and he and Tom seemed to enjoy each others's company. Do you all remember Bill Jones? I am sure he is a nice guy but those were some boring ass broadcasts. I fear the Rangers will replace Josh with another boring ass guy (who's the weekend dude when Josh is away for football?), and we may be wishing Josh was still around. Good luck, Josh, you did a great job broadcasting here and all the best luck in your future.
I agree with Big Bob W on the replacement but I hate this news...he made the broadcast interesting enough for Mrs. Broken Shoulder to stop down and watch for moments at a time. Sad day for the Ranger fans at home..I loved Josh, lets face it..quite a few of the last ten years needed more that strong play by play..I loved how he pulled Tom out of his shell, and his pop culture references were often times hilarious. I also love it when he fills in for Norm during the winter. Sad to see you go Josh, but I do sincerely wish you well on your future endeavors. I'll still follow you on twitter, and expect the same sir...Lets win this sumofabitch for the Josh's now..
No, don't want Eric on TV. I'm afraid he'd have to water down his fantastic make-you-feel-like-you're-there descriptions of the various ballparks, uniforms and what not that TV shows you. I've come to cherish Nadel's brilliance on the radio, which, if possible, increases each year. The Ralph and Razor double gig works because it's hockey, where you still need the play-by-play even though you're watching it. This is definitely not a fit for television. Remember when the old gray wolf began his guest Rangers TV stint by mistakenly doing a radio broadcast? He realized it and made the change. I liked Josh, but this isn't surprising. Prediction: we'll miss Independent Josh next year.
Im happy if they stop going to Knoxy in the corwd to miss important pitches.
"Robert Wilonsky says: Look, the solution is simple: Nadel on TV and radio, a la the Stars' set-up. Posted On: Monday, Oct. 11 2010 @ 3:31PM" Fantastic idea!
Save the Josh Lewin thinking for Wednesday. Right now, it's Josh Hamilton that's more important.
I have to disagree with some of you... I think Josh was fantastic! He's one of the reasons I'd tune in to watch the Rangers during the dreadful years. No one made a call quite like Josh!
Look, the solution is simple: Nadel on TV and radio, a la the Stars' set-up.
Great guy. Beating of an announcer. Also, if Barnett moves over to full-time TV, Bo-ring!
I liked the guy well enough, but I'll be the first to admit that he was an acquired taste. The chemistry of TAG seemed a little awkward at times - Josh seems like he'd be more at home on The Ticket, with his quirky pop culture references that often flew several feet over Tom's head. I have little hope that the Rangers will find anybody nearly as entertaining.
bummer!
how is this bad news?