Michael Kay ‘almost quit’ ESPN New York radio show over Mike Piazza prank

The Michael Kay Show with Don La Greca lasted more than 22 years, but the radio show came very close to ending back in 2005.

Last Friday was the final episode of this iteration of The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio in New York. After 22 years, Kay is moving to a solo show from 1-3 p.m., while La Greca will continue in afternoon drive alongside Peter Rosenberg and Alan Hahn.

In celebration of their impressive run, Awful Announcing put together a list of “10 memorable moments in The Michael Kay Show history.” Kay, La Greca and Rosenberg commented on a few of the moments on this list during their final show together, including No.5. April 1, 2005: The Mike Piazza Prank.

“I don’t believe we’re supposed to talk about this on the air,” Rosenberg said before telling Kay what the moment was.

The prank occurred less than three years after Kay and La Greca launched on ESPN Radio in New York and just a few months after they were moved to afternoon drive where they were competing against WFAN’s Mike and the Mad Dog. On April 1, 2005, longtime ESPN New York contributor Larry Hardesty called into the show to inform Kay the New York Mets had just traded Mike Piazza and Mike Cameron for Sammy Sosa.

Hardesty and La Greca were in on the prank. Kay was not. The voice of the New York Yankees proceeded to rip the Mets and take calls on the trade before he was finally clued in that it was an April Fools’ prank set up by then-producer Aaron Spielberg.

“I almost quit,” Kay admitted after Rosenberg brought up the moment during their final show as a trio. “I said, ‘I don’t do April Fools stuff. I think it’s terrible.’ So they decided to do an April Fools thing.”

To be clear, this was a list of important and memorable moments in the show’s history, not necessarily the best or most celebrated moments. And a moment where Kay legitimately almost quit The Michael Kay Show, is undoubtedly a memorable moments. This was no act or schtick, Kay almost ended his tenure alongside La Greca nearly 20 years too soon. But he opted to stay with Spielberg getting removed from the show instead.

“Aaron Spielberg, who was disciplined and pulled off the show and made program director,” La Greca recalled, prompting Kay to add, “Because at our station, we fail up.”

Spielberg was initially reassigned to producing a different show before getting promoted to program director, a title he held until 2010. He was eventually succeeded by Justin Craig, who oversaw the move to FM, the YES Network simulcast, the addition of Peter Rosenberg, and The Michael Kay Show morphing into a legitimate ratings competitor for WFAN. But all of those changes and accomplishments could have been erased if Kay went through with quitting back in 2005.

[TMKS]