Legendary broadcaster declined opportunity to call Mets games
Legendary announcer Ian Eagle could have had a seat in the press box at Shea Stadium.
Eagle revealed on the “Marchand Sports Media podcast” with The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand that he could have called New York Mets games as a fill-in more than 20 years ago.
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“I had a chance to do Mets games back in the early 2000s,” Eagle said. “Was offered a 25-game package with SportsChannel. And the only time my wife ever said, ‘What are you kidding?’ Whenever I mentioned a possible job, she’s always been incredibly understanding, supportive and a team player, but she was right.
“I basically had no time off already. And whatever time I would’ve had off, it would’ve been calling Mets game, backing up Howie Rose at the time. So, I didn’t do that.”
These days, Eagle packs a lot into his schedule: He’s the Brooklyn Nets’ play-by-play announcer on YES Network, he calls basketball games on TNT and broadcasts NFL and college basketball games on CBS. According to The Athletic, Eagle will call NBA games on Amazon Prime Video later in 2025. TNT lost the rights to live games starting next season.
