This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ARLINGTON -- For years, Rangers radio broadcaster Eric Nadel has dedicated himself to mental health advocacy throughout the North Texas area. 

Nadel has hosted several benefits throughout his time in Texas. The biggest of his initiatives has been his annual Birthday Benefit concert, held every year the week of his birthday. 

The Eric Nadel Birthday Benefit concert at The Kessler Theater in Dallas raises funds annually for various mental health organizations and nonprofits in the DFW area. This year, the Grant Halliburton Foundation is the beneficiary for the third time in the 11 years of the event, which will be on May 18.  

This year’s benefit is special for Nadel as he continues to deal with the biggest mental health crisis of his own personal life. Though 2023 would have marked Nadel’s 45th season in the booth for the Rangers, the Ford C. Frick Award winner took a step back in March as he deals with anxiety, insomnia and depression.

“Everybody says, ‘How are you doing?’ and everybody wants details, and I don't really want to get into details of my therapies and treatments and stuff like that,” Nadel said. “But I do want people to know that there are lots of options out there, obviously, there are their medicines, but there are also all kinds of different therapies. I've been, I've been trying a few of those myself.”

The event is sold out, but the online auction is currently live and ends on Thursday, May 18, at 9 p.m. The Birthday Benefit will also include a live and silent auction at the Kessler on the day of the event. All proceeds will benefit the Foundation’s mental health and suicide prevention education programs for North Texas children, teens and young adults.

“For me, with the situation that I’m in, what Grant Halliburton does is even more important than it’s ever been,” Nadel said. “They work so hard to erase the stigma around mental health issues and encourage people to go out and reach out for help. What I've been going through, I know, is helping some people with similar issues reach out for help because a lot of them have written to me. 

“I'm really grateful that people have reached out, both the ones who have thanked me and just others who have just sent their love and support. It's been really overwhelming.”

The Birthday Benefit is one of the Grant Halliburton Foundation’s main fundraisers as as it enters its third year as the title charity for the concert. 

The Foundation has become a primary resource for mental health issues in North Texas. It developed HereForTexas.com, an online searchable database of mental health resources in North Texas, as well as Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line, a free helpline. Both are no-cost community tools that aim to offer easy access for Texans seeking mental health and addiction resources and information.

The Foundation also offers Coffee Days peer support groups, a free monthly group for moms and female caretakers of young people with emotional or mental health challenges.

“Again, with what I've been going through, I’ve been able to help raise awareness about mental health issues and erase the stigma,” Nadel said. “Of course, with what Grant Halliburton does with school kids and educators, [that’s] going to help. They've reached and trained, apparently, nearly 300,000 [people on] how to recognize and deal with people that may be having mental health issues.”

The auction includes a number of autographed items, a private tour of the ballpark given by John Blake, a variety of celebrity dinners, including Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley and pitcher Taylor Hearn, a round of golf with Derek Holland and the opportunity to sit in the booth with PA announcer Chuck Morgan for an inning. 

The National Baseball Hall of Famer's 2023 event will also feature headliner Danielle Ponder and special guest Daphne Willis -- a close friend of Nadel -- as the opener.

“[Ponder] has an amazing story,” Nadel said. “She is from Rochester, New York. She's in her early 40s and, until 2018, she was a public defender in Manchester and playing in bands on the side. Then she decided to make the jump and become a full-time professional musician. She’s right on the verge of hitting it big. We booked her just in time for the show. She’s got a big, big, powerful voice and a great message. So the show's gonna be amazing.” 

Nadel, who is in his 27th year as the lead voice of the Texas Rangers radio broadcasts but 45th overall, credits Matt Hick, Jared Sandler and the entire crew for putting on amazing broadcasts in his absence. But he also notes that he is getting better each day and cannot wait to return to the booth. 

Nadel will no doubt return as soon as he’s able. In the meantime, he’ll continue to focus on helping others and spreading awareness for mental health in Texas. 

“I’ve been feeling better,” Nadel said. “It's really been tough but I'm slowly feeling better and more like myself. I’m hoping I'll be back in the booth at some point, but I really can't put a timeline on it.

“I've been watching games on TV and listening on the radio. I'm so excited about the team. They're just getting phenomenal results. The broadcast team is doing amazing work without me. Matt and Jared and the guys who were filling in, they’ve all been fantastic. That's made it a little bit easier on me.”