Sweeny Murti and Ed Coleman, the two baseball beat reporters at WFAN, both got their start by working behind the glass with Steve Somers.
So of course, they had to get in one last chat during Friday’s Final Schmooze.
Ed’s first gig at the FAN was doing overnight updates for Steve, but even as he evolved into covering the Mets, he always had Steve’s voice in his ear over the years, just like countless New York sports fans.
“I think anyone who has listened to you knows you’re talented, you’re funny, you’re insightful, you’re perceptive,” Ed said. “The one thing that always stood out to me, because I would get in my car after Mets games during the baseball season, I would always hear Steve Somers, because you were always there. You were reliable. I think people relied on you being there all the time. You were their friend, you were their savant, you were a lot of things to a lot of people…you came to work every day and you did a great job.”
Sweeny started out as a producer for Steve for his first six months at WFAN, and was a part of some memorable shows like Steve’s hour-long talk with Jerry Seinfeld, and another with Bud Selig. Knowing Steve for as long as he has, Sweeny has a feeling Steve might still pen his famous radio monologues, even if they’ll no longer be spoken into a microphone after Monday afternoon, when Steve will be on from 1-2 p.m. for one last goodbye.
“I remember reading an article about Johnny Carson years after he retired, and he’d still be watching the news and writing jokes and he would call David Letterman with jokes,” Sweeny said. “He was basically still finding a way to do his show even though he was off the air.
“I have a feeling you’re gonna be like Johnny Carson where you’re going to be writing reams of monologues with no place to deliver them, but it’s the exercise of doing it that’s going to fulfill you.”
Listen to Steve's full conversation with Ed and Sweeny below!
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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