Possum Takes Over Mets Broadcast Booth At A’s Stadium, Forces Move

Cohen said he first received word last September about the possum making its home in the visitor’s booth, so he knew it was there. But as Darling got there, he said he was told — rather emphatically — to move into another.

“I came here and went to the booth,” Darling said. “And people grabbed me almost tackled me and pushed me into this booth.”

But an old friend had a unique experience with the possum when the Los Angeles Angels visited the A’s to start the season.

“The Angels played here at the beginning of the season. They were the first team in, and Wayne Randazzo — our friend — is now the television voice of the Angels,” Cohen said. “And he told us that in the opening game of the season, the possum — who apparently lives somewhere in the wall behind that visitor’s TV booth — made an appearance during the game in their booth. It was just, you know, crawling around, minding own possum business, walking across the counter.

“I mean, he wasn’t you know trying to horn in on the broadcast. He was just doing his possum things.”

More on the quest to catch the possum at the Oakland A’s stadium

It’s not like the staff at RingCentral Coliseum planned to let the possum take over the booth. They just haven’t caught him yet. It doesn’t help the A’s were out on the East Coast recently, meaning the booth wasn’t needed.

Now, they’re back home, and visiting broadcasters will have to set up somewhere. But the Mets’ crew was moved to the other booth after the tech crews decided it might not be a good idea to work in the same booth as the possum. After all, it didn’t exactly smell great.

But that meant Cohen had to work around a pole in front of his chair. He’s used to having something in his way, though, from his experience calling college basketball games.

“[The crews] walk in the booth and immediately were met by the stench of the possum having you know, done his business in the booth,” Cohen said. “So apparently, the booth wreaked so badly of possum leavings that an executive decision was made to move us to this booth, which is so much smaller.

“And it has a few impediments, like there’s a pole right in front of me. … But you know I can I can bob and weave like the best of them. When I do college basketball, a lot of times we were on the floor, and the coach is right in front of us … so I’m familiar with the scenario.”