Later this month 670 The Score afternoon host Matt Spiegel will see one of his dreams come true when he calls his first inning of play-by-play for the Chicago Cubs.
When Marquee Sports Network announced Cubs radio voice Pat Hughes would be one of three rotating fill-ins for play-by-play this season, it left a void on The Score. During the five broadcasts, pre and postgame show host Zach Zaidman will take over for Hughes on Cubs radio. But they still needed someone to fill Zaidman’s usual radio role calling the fifth inning of Cubs games.
Spiegel’s afternoon partner on The Score, Danny Parkins pushed for his co-host to get the gig, and program director Mitch Rosen obliged. On the five games Pat Hughes moves to TV, Spiegel will fill Zaidman’s regular radio spot, hosting the pre and postgame shows, as well as calling the fifth inning. His first game will be at Wrigley Field, April 25 against the Brewers.
“I’m sure a lot of people think that this is just a radio gimmick, and, ‘Oh, talk-show host gets to do an inning,’” Spiegel said according to Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Obviously, there’s an element of promotion that I think Mitch Rosen enjoys, and I don’t begrudge him that.
“But my respect level for the job and the booth is so high that it’s daunting to me. And while I’ve achieved a lot of other dreams in broadcasting, this is the first dream I ever had. So to get a chance to actually do it is really, really special.”
Spiegel returned to The Score as a full-time host earlier this year, when he reunited with Parkins, his former midday partner. The duo worked together from 2017- 2019, but Spiegel spent nine years in the station’s midday slot and has been a fixture in Chicago sports media for nearly three decades.
As he prepares to call his first inning of play-by-play for the Cubs, Spiegel told the Sun-Times that he’s getting advice from his 23-year-old nephew Jack McMullen, the voice of the Padres’ High-A affiliate the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Even though it’s just five of nearly 1,500 innings the Cubs play this season, Spiegel recognizes the importance of the opportunity.
“I might be used in perpetuity,” he told Agrest. “I might end up calling an inside-the-park grand slam that is remembered for decades. That could be true at any moment during a ballgame.”