Josh Lewin admitted he might not have been quite as focused as usual Monday night when he was calling the Chargers’ game against the Steelers for the Chargers’ radio network.
That is because while that game was unfolding in San Diego the baseball team for which he usually calls games on WOR radio was busy winning Game 3 of the NLDS at Citi Field.
“It was absolutely bizarre,” Lewin said upon arriving for Game 4 Tuesday after driving to Los Angeles to grab a red-eye flight back to New York through Chicago.
“I don’t know that I did my Chargers job beautifully, because I had one eye on our game here if not both eyes at times. In fact, at one point both games were 7-3. Kind of a nightmare scenario to have that conflict. I feel awful.
“I was going to have to miss something I felt passionate about and felt that I was going to let somebody down either way. Going forward I am committed to the Mets from here on. I feel good about that. I feel awful I had to miss one.”
Lewin missed other Mets games of note in the regular season because of his Chargers duties, including when they clinched the National League East and when the Nationals’ Max Scherzer no-hit them.
His contract allows him to miss 12 Mets games per season. He only has missed 10, but he informed the Chargers he will not skip any more. That includes two potential Sundays during the NLCS. Wayne Randazzo filled in for him on Monday.
“They’ve been really great,” Lewin said of the Chargers. “I see their point. There are only 16 of those and every one of them is very special. But my position to them has been the Mets being in the playoffs is pretty special, too. And I’ve got 11 years out there, whereas I’m a little newer here.
“It’s a nice problem to have loyalties to split, I guess, because I’m passionate about both places I work. I love them both and I hate that there was a collision.”
Lewin called it a “Halley’s comet event” that the Chargers had a Monday game this week. Had they played on Sunday he would not have had to miss a Mets game. There was an off day in the NLDS on Sunday.
“It was a 16-1 horse that came in that we would have the conflict,” he said.
Lewin has made elaborate plans in case the Mets host Game 5 of the World Series Nov. 1, a day on which the Chargers play the Ravens in Baltimore at 1 p.m. He plans to hire a helicopter to deliver him in time for the night baseball game.
“It will be the most epic day of my whole life,” he said. “Believe me, I have done all of the math. I’m taking a loss financially, but it’s well worth it.”
Credit to Newsday who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
