Retired Numbers

Today the Mets announced that Jerry Koosman's #36 will be retired by the Mets some time in 2020. He would be the first person to receive such an honor as a Mets player that isn't a Baseball Hall of Famer (Gil Hodges had his number retired for his accomplishments as Manager, and I won't get into him deserving to be inducted as a player, but not wearing a Mets hat for that).

For me, this opens up a can of worms. Who's next? Where do they draw the line? Several years ago, I made a commentary of sorts on the subject in the form of an entry for Banner Day called "Citi Field Squares", where I had a parody of the old TV game show "Hollywood Squares" where each celebrity square was represented by a Mets would-be or actual retired number. The commentary was that there's a lot more potential retired numbers for the Mets, and I had to limit my game board to 9 squares (and 3 already retired numbers). From that list, 31 for Piazza was eventually retired (6 days after he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame). And I didn't even include 36 for Koosman.


So who's next (after Koosman)? The implication from today's announcement was that there will be others.

Gary Carter is a Hall of Famer, who more or less earned it before coming to the Mets. He earned his World Series ring in Queens. A lot of people are going there. Carter passed away in early 2012. It would have been nice to honor him this way while he was still alive.

Many people want David Wright to be a baseball Hall of Famer. I thought he came up short on that, but he should be the next person inducted into the Mets (team) Hall of Fame. And have #5 taken out of circulation like #24 was taken out of circulation, but not retired. I might wait a couple years before holding David Wright Night and retiring his number just to see if he does make it to Cooperstown.

What about Doc Gooden & Darryl Strawberry (who were inducted together into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2010)? Or Keith Hernandez? Personally, I would have made the next Mets Hall of Fame induction be Gary Cohen this season (now just a few games shy of 31 complete seasons calling Mets games), with Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling following a year or two later (maybe 2021 in their 15th season calling games, or 2022 after 15 seasons were complete) with plaques that indicate for each that their longevity is as a broadcaster while each made a mark as a player. But Keith Hernandez is a borderline Hall of Fame player. So should he get his number retired at some point?

What about Bud Harrelson or Eddie Kranepool? They were both long-tenured Mets from the 1960s and 1970s. Buddy was the only person in a Mets uniform for both World Series championships (as a player in 1969, as a coach in 1986). And Buddy's not in good health. It would be good to honor him while he's still (physically) here. Hopefully the same would be true for "Steady Eddie" should they choose to retire his number.

Who am I missing? Am I wrong about any of these? I don't want to consider (yet, and for a while) the active players.


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A New Spring

It's Spring Training again. I keep thinking that I will write here a lot this season, again. Maybe I will, maybe I won't.
But I can't let the start of Spring Training pass without my annual post (or re-post or just sharing an old link). The sounds of Spring Training.

I always listen to some sound bytes of Bob Murphy opening up WFAN's first Spring Training broadcast in 1998, a recording I made playing around with a Walkman, wires and my computer. Then I listen to a 6 1/2 minute clip of Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen calling another game from that spring. And then there's a clip of them throwing it to a commercial (which now makes me nostalgic for the WFAN Mets Radio Network).

raw audio from Spring Training 1998 (WFAN Radio):
WFAN's first broadcast of the spring with Bob Murphy at the mic


Bob Murphy leading into a commercial


6 1/2 minutes of play-by-play and conversation between Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen

Recently, I found some cassette tapes that I made around the same time as those sound bytes, taken from both TV and radio. So I have some brand new Mets audio clips:

Another game opening on WFAN in Spring Training 1998, with Gary Cohen as the lead and Bob Murphy as the #2 announcer.


WWOR TV's "Fresh From Florida" opening (unfortunately, it's only the audio) with Gary Thorne and Tim McCarver opening "Mets Baseball '98".


A short highlight from Tim McCarver and Gary Thorne on WWOR TV. Pitcher Paul Wilson with a basehit.


Another short highlight from Tim McCarver calling a homerun. I always loved how small and intimate the crowd sounds here.




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30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 4

30 Years As a Mets Fan – Part 4

The start of Spring Training

“People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.” – Rogers Hornsby, Baseball Hall of Famer and original Mets coach

And then one day each year, spring would slowly but surely arrive at my window. It would start with the first live local news reports from Port St. Lucie, seen on channel 4 or on channel 2. Nowadays, SNY is there 5 nights a week. But this is just practice. It’s a mirage. And then one day you turn on your radio and “Meet the Mets” is playing at the top of a broadcast. And you know that meant Bob Murphy’s voice would soon follow.

“Well hi everybody. This is Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen. Baseball has been asleep for a while. Welcome, the game is coming back.” – Bob Murphy, Mets Hall of Fame broadcaster, introducing the first Spring Training game in 1998

The way I remember it as a kid, it was always the first Friday in March that the Mets would take the field for the first time in the new season, and that WFAN would usually be there to cover it. I would set the clock radio in my bedroom to turn on at 1pm, even though I was in school. I didn’t want to waste any time, or even simply forget when I got home from school, even though the game might be in the 7th or 8th inning. I longed to hear the voices. And that was just in case I didn’t have my Walkman to listen to the game while I was walking home from school.

The years have blended together. I have one generic memory of this day which was probably the same every year growing up. I lost it a few years years when I was away at school. WFAN in the daytime didn’t have reception in New England and the Internet hadn’t been invented yet. In college, and as an adult, it became a bit harder because things like classes and work got in the way of that first spring game. But even if it’s for only 5 minutes, I make sure to listen to that first broadcast, now anchored by Howie Rose on WOR radio, and usually played through my computer. It’s not enough for me to join that broadcast in progress or catch it archived later in the day. I need the feeling of hearing Meet the Mets and Howie Rose live.

Same thing for the first spring TV broadcast. Seeing the Mets for the first time might have to wait until Saturday or Sunday, depending on the WWOR (or later, MSG/FSNY) schedule. I couldn’t wait until it was time when I could hear Ralph Kiner’s voice or that “Fresh from Florida” intro that Channel 9 had at one point. Now, it’s Gary Cohen on SNY and PIX11, but it’s the same idea.

There is a different sound to a Spring Training broadcast. It sounds a bit more relaxed in those smaller ballparks. There isn’t as much crowd noise. I swear at times I could hear a conversation from the stands. The games don’t mean anything, and the players and fans seem to know it. So do the broadcasters. Even they sound more relaxed. It’s just a warm up, forgotten at the end of the day. But it’s the sounds of summer while the calendar is technically still on winter.

I managed to grab the 3 audio files in this story from my Walkman during Spring Training 1998. The second one is just a few minutes of Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen calling most of a half inning from a game against the Cardinals in Jupiter. The third is just more Bob Murphy, this time throwing it to a commercial break.

Baseball has been asleep for a while, welcome, the game is coming back

NOTE: this is my annual first-spring-training-game post.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you two treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inaugural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.


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Mets Announcers at the Olympics

This is an updated post from ones I did in 2010 and 2012.

With this Winter Olympics underway, I decided to take a look and see which past and present Mets broadcasters have worked at the Olympics. I found a few more than I had expected. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an omission from this list. If you don't want to do all that reading, head down to the bottom of the post for a few sound bytes from a current Mets announcer calling an Olympic sport.

• Jiggs McDonald - Best known as a Hall of Fame Hockey broadcaster and voice of the Islanders on TV from 1980-81 through 1994-95, he called Mets games on SportsChannel in 1982.
  

  He called Ice Hockey at the 1998 Calgary Winter Games for ABC and at the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for TNT, and also Basketball for CTV in Canada at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Don Criqui - Known for his work calling NFL and College Football and College Basketball for NBC and CBS TV and Radio, he was listed as a fill in announcer for the Mets in 1991 (which I don't really remember, but have seen his name listed in some announcer lineups and it was noted in the NY Times).
  

  He called play-by-play for Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games and Water Polo at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games for NBC and hosted NBC's Olympics Triplecast PPV broadcast at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Kenny Albert - Best known for his work with the NFL and MLB on FOX and Rangers on the radio and NHL on NBCSN, he was a fill-in announcer for Bob Murphy during the summer of 2001 on WFAN.
  

  He's called play-by-play for NBC's Olympic Ice Hockey coverage at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, 2010 Vancouver and now 2014 Sochi Winter Games for NBC.

• Ed Coleman, former Mets fill-in announcer and host of Mets Extra on WFAN.
  

  He "did some radio work" at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Games for NBC Radio and the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for CBS Radio.

• Howard Cosell - best known from his work on Monday Night Football and Boxing on ABC, he was actually the first pre-game host for the Mets Radio broadcasts in 1962 on WABC Radio.
  

  He was part of ABC TV's Olympic coverage in the 1972 Munich Summer Games and called Boxing at the 1976 Montreal and 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games

• Tim McCarver - Known at one point as the best analyst in Baseball, he's been a lead analyst for ABC, CBS, ABC again, and FOX and was a Mets broadcaster on WOR/WWOR and SportsChannel from 1983 to 1998.
  

  As part of ABC Sports in the late '80s, he called Freestyle Skiing and served as a reporter at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, and as part of CBS Sports the early '90s, he was a co-host of CBS's primetime coverage of the 1992 Albertville Winter Games

• Gary Thorne - Best known as ESPN and ABC's lead NHL announcer, he was a Mets Radio announcer from 1985 to 1988 on WHN/WFAN and a Mets TV announcer on WWOR, WPIX, and FSN New York from 1994 to 2002.
  

  He called Speed Skating for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, Canoeing and Rowing for NBC at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, and Ice Hockey for NBC at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

• Ted Robinson - Best known as the lead Tennis commentator for NBC and the Tennis Channel, he was a TV and Radio announcer for the Mets from 2002 to 2005 on WPIX, FSN New York, and WFAN.
  

  He holds the record for past/present Mets broadcasters making his 8th Olympic broadcast appearance, having called Short Track Speed Skating, Freestyle Skiing, and Giant Slalom Snowboarding for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, and for NBC, he called Baseball at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, Short Track Speed Skating at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, and 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Speed Skating at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, Diving and Canoeing at the 2004 Athens Summer Games, Diving again at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Summer Games.

• Gary Cohen - Best known for his work calling New York Mets baseball, he's been the TV voice of the Mets on SNY and WPIX since 2006 and was a voice of the Mets on WFAN from 1989 to 2005.
  

  He called Ice Hockey for CBS Radio at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, including all 3 Gold Medal contests

Here are some sound bytes of Gary Cohen at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

A disclaimer. These broadcasts are probably the copyright of the IOC, USOC, CBS Radio and/or WFAN. I recorded them using an old fashioned walkman plugged into my computer in 1998, live, as the events happened.

Gary Cohen at the 1998 Olympics Men's Ice Hockey tournament (CBS Radio):
Czech Republic wins the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal

Jason Bornstein · Czech Gold (98 Nagano)

Czech goalie Dominik Hasek with 3 great saves against the U.S.

Jason Bornstein · Hasek Save (98 Nagano) (1)

Jason Bornstein · Hasek Save (98 Nagano) (2)

Jason Bornstein · Hasek Save (98 Nagano) (3)

Mike Modano scores for Team USA

Jason Bornstein · Modano Goal (98 Nagano)

Mikhail Shtalenkov with a save for Russia

Jason Bornstein · Stalenkov Save (98 Nagano)

Petr Svoboda with a goal for the Czech Republic

Jason Bornstein · Svboda Goal (98 Nagano)

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And it all begins tomorrow

Happy Opening Day. I'm beginning my 5th baseball season with this blog (hard to believe) and the 5th season at Citi Field (also hard to believe), and I'm pretty much recycling some of my special posts (but they still have meaning, such as an anniversary).

This one I'm taking from my Opening Day post from last year, where I shared a few Opening Day memories. I will except the very short story and sound bytes from Opening Day 1998, which is hard to believe was 15 years ago today.

I remember cutting class during my sophomore year in college to watch Opening Day 1998 (like 2003, also a March 31 opener, and like 2007, against the Phillies) when Bobby Jones started for the Mets.

Here's how the game started.


And this is how that game ended.

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Mets Baseball 2013

This is my annual Spring Training sound byte post.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you three treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inagural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


and finally is Bob Murphy leading into a commercial


I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.


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Mets Announcers at the Olympics

This is an udpated post from one I did in 2010.

With this Summer Olympics starting this weekend, I decided to take a look anad see which past and present Mets broadcasters have worked at the Olympics. I found a few more than I had expected. It wouldn't surprise me if there was an omission from this list. If you don't want to do all that reading, head down to the bottom of the post for a few sound bytes from a current Mets announcer calling an Olympic sport.

• Jiggs McDonald - Best known as a Hall of Fame Hockey broadcaster and voice of the Islanders on TV from 1980-81 through 1994-95, he called Mets games on SportsChannel in 1982.
  

  He called Ice Hockey at the 1998 Calgary Winter Games for ABC and at the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for TNT, and also Basketball for CTV in Canada at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Don Criqui - Known for his work calling NFL and College Football and College Basketball for NBC and CBS TV and Radio, he was listed as a fill in announcer for the Mets in 1991 (which I don't really remember, but have seen his name listed in some announcer lineups and it was noted in the NY Times).
  

  He called play-by-play for Swimming at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games and Water Polo at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games for NBC and hosted NBC's Olympics Triplecast PPV broadcast at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games.

• Kenny Albert - Best known for his work with the NFL and MLB on FOX and Rangers on the radio, he was a fill-in announcer for Bob Murphy during the summer of 2001 on WFAN.
  

  He's called play-by-play for NBC's Olympic Ice Hockey coverage at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, and he will reprise that roll at 2010 Vancouver Winter Games for NBC.

• Ed Coleman, Mets fill-in announcer and host of Mets Extra on WFAN.
  

  He "did some radio work" at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Summer Games for NBC Radio and the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games for CBS Radio.

• Howard Cosell - best known from his work on Monday Night Football and Boxing on ABC, he was actually the first pre-game host for the Mets Radio broadcasts in 1962 on WABC Radio.
  

  He was part of ABC TV's Olympic coverage in the 1972 Munich Summer Games and called Boxing at the 1976 Montreal and 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games

• Tim McCarver - Known at one point as the best analyst in Baseball, he's been a lead analyst for ABC, CBS, ABC again, and FOX and was a Mets broadcaster on WOR/WWOR and SportsChannel from 1983 to 1998.
  

  As part of ABC Sports in the late '80s, he called Freestyle Skiing and served as a reporter at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, and as part of CBS Sports the early '90s, he was a co-host of CBS's primetime coverage of the 1992 Albertville Winter Games

• Gary Thorne - Best known as ESPN and ABC's lead NHL announcer, he was a Mets Radio announcer from 1985 to 1988 on WHN/WFAN and a Mets TV announcer on WWOR, WPIX, and FSN New York from 1994 to 2002.
  

  He called Speed Skating for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, Canoeing and Rowing for NBC at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, and Ice Hockey for NBC at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

• Ted Robinson - Best known as the lead Tennis commentator for NBC and the Tennis Channel, he was a TV and Radio announcer for the Mets from 2002 to 2005 on WPIX, FSN New York, and WFAN.
  

  He holds the record for past/present Mets broadcasters making his 7th Olympic broadcast appearance, having called Short Track Speed Skating, Freestyle Skiing, and Giant Slalom Snowboarding for CBS at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, and for NBC, he called Baseball at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games, Short Track Speed Skating at the 2002 Salt Lake City, 2006 Turino, and 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, Diving and Canoeing at the 2004 Athens Summer Games, Diving again at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Games.

• Gary Cohen - Best known for his work calling New York Mets baseball, he's been the TV voice of the Mets on SNY and WPIX since 2006 and was a voice of the Mets on WFAN from 1989 to 2005.
  

  He called Ice Hockey for CBS Radio at the 1992 Albertville, 1994 Lillehammer, and 1998 Nagano Winter Games, including all 3 Gold Medal contests

Here are some sound bytes of Gary Cohen at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

A disclaimer. These broadcasts are probably the copyright of the IOC, USOC, CBS Radio and/or WFAN. I recorded them using an old fashioned walkman plugged into my computer in 1998, live, as the events happened.

Gary Cohen at the 1998 Olympics Men's Ice Hockey tournament (CBS Radio):
Czech Republic wins the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal


Czech goalie Dominik Hasek with 3 great saves against the U.S.




Mike Modano scores for Team USA


Mikhail Shtalenkov with a save for Russia


Petr Svoboda with a goal for the Czech Republic



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Bob Murphy and the No Hitter

A thought went through my head in the few days since Johan Santana pitched the first No Hitter in Mets history. We heard Howie Rose's call on WFAN. We heard Gary Cohen's call on SNY. They are holding down the fort as the voices of the Mets.

Howie Rose's call on WFAN with Jim Duquette


Gary Cohen's call on SNY with Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez


On Monday, I suggested that Santana appear on Kiner's Korner.

And today, I want to think about the man that I call "forever the voice of the Mets", Bob Murphy. Bob Murphy was an original Mets broadcaster in 1962. He wasn't the "network guy". He wasn't the "All-Star Player". He was the voice of the Mets for a couple of generations, until his retirement after the 2003 season. We lost him in August 2004. He was known as a "homer", a broadcaster (in fact, a Hall of Fame broadcaster), but one who rooted for the team which he called.

So how would Bob Murhpy have called the last out of Santana's no hitter? For argument's sake, let's put him on WFAN with his old partner Gary Cohen. That's how I grew up listening to the Mets, and that's where he was when he retired. This is how I think it would have sounded (you'll have to meet me half way and imagine his voice and emphasis saying these words). If you remember Bob Murphy, you remember the emphasis that he put on certain words and certain parts of words, so I am attempting to capture that with capital letters and extra letters.

now the crowd standing, roaring as loud as they can.
three and two, here's the pitch.
swing and a miss. STRIKEEE THREEEE! STRIKEE THREE!
it's all over, the mets win it!
JOHAN SANTANA HAS THROWN A NO HITTER!
the first one by a METS pitcher.
they're all racing towards the mound, MOBBING Johan Santana.
they had gone over fifty years without one, and now a mets pitcher has thrown a NO hitter.
and we'll be back with the very happy recap in just a moment!

Especially here, feedback and alternate suggestions are welcome.


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Hitting the Chalk

I wrote this piece 3 years ago, and after the bad call on the left field foul line during Friday night's no hitter, and while watching the French Open on TV (which does not have replay), I thought of re-posting this piece.

I like watching the big Tennis tournaments, so here's a thought with that in mind.

Imagine baseball's replay system (or even football's) if they used the technology and speed used for replays at Wimbledon & the US Open?

(Gary) "A pop up down the line. Sheffield over. It falls in fair territory. Utley to second standing. And Sheffield raises his hands asking for a review. Let's take a look Keith."
(replay system shows the ball landing just outside from the line, in foul territory, calling it "FOUL".)
(Keith) "It's called out, Gar. Good eyes by Sheffield out there in left."
(Gary) "So they'll replay the pitch."
(Keith) "Mets caught a break there, Gar. They didn't have that in my day."
(Gary) "Ronnie, as a pitcher, how does that affect you?"
(Ron) "Uh.... Just treat it like you would if it were called foul in the first place."

A few nights later, Gary and Ronnie on SNY had a play in a game against the Dodgers at was a candidate for this type of replay. Without mentioning this blog, or the specific (joking) example noted here, they did bring up the idea of the tennis replay in passing before having the thought put to bed by the showing of their sponsored replay.


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Eighty Twenty

I hope this is coherent. After all, a Mets pitcher has thrown a No Hitter.

It had to be Jo(han)! It had to be Jo(han)! He's the ace. He's coming back after more than a year off. He stepped it up tonight. Johan Santana threw a Mets No Hitter. His second straight complete game shutout. He's the guy who led us to the final day in the 2008 season with a win in the penultimate game at Shea...pitching that day with a bum knee and carrying the team on his back. That was known as "The Santana Game". Now he's thrown a No Hitter.

It was something that I could feel around the 7th inning when I put the game back on. I saw periodic updates with no hits, but I learned years ago not to get my hopes up. After the Baxter catch, I could feel it. I've always imagined how I'd react to it (with tears). In reality, I started breathing heavier and heavier starting in the 8th inning. So much that I couldn't take a phone call after the game ended. It was more hyperventilating than tears, but plenty of disbelief.

I thought I had jumped the gun a bit by starting to record on the DVR in the middle of the 7th. I recorded SNY for 2 1/2 hours. I'll record that to the computer later. Maybe I'll re-record the entire game when SNY replays it. That's a DVD for sure. In the 8th, I got out my audio recording equipment to record the broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I pay for MLB.TV on the internet, and I have some basic wires and plugs in my laptop that lets me record audio). I recorded for about half an hour starting in the middle of the 9th and going until Howie signed off the game broadcast and switched to Mets Extra (when the MLB.TV audio shut off). I hope I can get Mets Extra later, even though I caught part of it on WFAN.com's live stream. I already uploaded the audio of the last batter from my recording. I saw that others have also.

It seems like a dream. Even though I'm watching the re-run of SportsNite on SNY, where they cover this and talk about it and I'm still reading Facebook statuses and tweets.

Howie Rose on WFAN and Gary Cohen on SNY both nailed it with their respective calls of the final out. Both were different. Both were right for their respective media (Howie on radio, Gary on TV). Both, I think, had some level of emotion in their calls. Both are lifetime Mets fans working in what some would call a "dream job" as a Voice of the Mets. I'm glad both were there tonight to make the call.

I can't wait to hear the beginning of tomorrow's respective broadcasts at around 4pm (WFAN for the radio and WPIX for the TV). I can't wait to hear Josh Lewin's remarks when he returns from his family weekend (there was a graduation in his family, so that lifelong Mets fan new to the club's broadcasts missed one of the greatest Mets games ever. I can't wait to hear the first interview with George Thomas Seaver ("The Franchise"), whenever that will be. I dreamed that this moment happened while I was at his winery and I could break the news to him.

I still don't believe it. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

LET'S GO METS!



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A little rule

A few years ago, I came up with a little rule regarding the "Voices of the Mets" and No Hitters. It goes like this...

At any given time in Mets history, there are either 2 or 3 designated "Voices of the Mets", and at least one of them has to be broadcasting every Mets game (not necessarily every batter, but one of them has to be there) just in case there is a No Hitter thrown. It's a very exclusive club.

Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner, and Lindsey Nelson were the original voices of the Mets. Lindsey Nelson left in the late '70s, and there were just 2. When Ralph Kiner stopped doing play-by-play after the 1997 season, Gary Cohen was elevated (yes, he had been there for 9 season already...it's not automatic except for the originals) to that status in 1998. Bob Murphy retired after the 2003 season and Howie Rose was elevated in 2004. There is no real rule that the "voices of the Mets" have to be radio broadcasters, but it's worked out that way. Gary Cohen moved to TV in 2006, but it's still Gary and Howie.

So as it stands today, we can't allow both Gary and Howie to be off for the same game, because what would happen if there was a No Hitter? I don't mind Josh Lewin, but look at last year when a lot of people didn't like Wayne Hagin, and there's a lot of people who don't like FOX announcers, so what if Howie had a weekend off when FOX was broadcasting a game, and a No Hitter was thrown? Neither of the "Voices of the Mets" would be there.

Get the idea? OK.

So now it's happened, and both Gary Cohen (with Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling on SNY) and Howie Rose (with Jim Duquette on WFAN) were broadcasting the game, just like it should be. It would have been a damn shame for either of them to miss it (sorry Josh Lewin).


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Spring Training 2012 - Day 6

Day 6 - March 27, 2012 - Mets-Braves @ Port St. Lucie

I'm starting to think this is going to be more of the same for the Mets in 2012. Chris Schwinden pitched for the big club and didn't look too good, though the Mets were able to fight out for a couple of runs, including another Duda HR. R.A. Dickey pitched 8 innings and threw over 100 pitches in a minor league game (consisting entirely of Mets minor leaguers) against Jeurys Familia on the back fields. I did catch part of that game where I could see the knuckle ball dance.

As my day 3 photo album suggests, I love the blue and orange colors that surround the Mets. Digital Domain Park holds the blue very well (and always has for the Mets' 25 seasons here). I also got a bit artsy with some of the photos now that I can go out to the berm in RF, and also now that I have a camera with a panorama setting. And aside from the blue as being a dominant theme this spring (and hopefully into the season), Gary Carter shirts/jerseys are another theme. Some of the locals here are even wearing pins from Carter's championship season with St. Lucie (which I believe was 2006).

As for autographs, it is no longer a sport to get them. It's more like a game of survival. I'm happy with Tuesday's haul of SNY's team of Bobby Ojeda on the back fields, Gary Cohen and Ron Darling after the game, but it can be next to impossible to get an autograph from a Mets player sometimes. I always seem to do better on my first day in town and then the well dries up. That said, I have space in my program reserved for the elusive Keith Hernandez, who must have snuck out of the ballpark very quickly after Tuesday's game, and the vacationing Kevin Burkhardt to round out an SNY broadcasters autograph page.


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Mets Baseball is on the air

NOTE: This is my now-annual Spring Training sound byte post.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you three treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inagural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


and finally is Bob Murphy leading into a commercial



I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.



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SNY and the Emmys

Read it here!

Included in the list are programs related to the Mets (remember the field trip to the Pepsi Porch and all 4 TV announcers nominated for the best in their craft) and SNY (which got nominated for things related to another baseball team in New York).

Category	Program	Network
SPORTS COVERAGE: SPORTSCAST/SERIES	SportsNite: Jeter Hits 3000. July 9, 2011	SNY
	SportsNite: Subway Series. May 20, 2011	SNY
SPORTS PROGRAMMING: REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAM	Summer of ’86 – Part 3. March 3, 2011 (Roman Gackowski, Producer/Director)	MSG
SPORTS PROGRAMMING: PROGRAM SERIES	Summer of ’86 – Series Composite. March 1, 2011 (Roman Gackowski, Producer/Director)	MSG
SPORTS PROGRAMMING: PROGRAM FEATURE/SEGMENT	R.A. Dickey. December 22, 2010	SNY
SPORTS PROGRAMMING: PROGRAM SERIES	Jets Nation: Extra Point. September 9, 2010	SNY
SPORTS PROGRAMMING: SPECIAL	Brooklyn Cyclones: Baseball on the Boardwalk. August 24, 2011	SNY
	Jets Nation: Draft Day 2011. April 28, 2011	SNY
LIVE SPORTS EVENT: PROGRAM/SPECIAL	Mets “Pepsi Porch” Broadcast. July 20, 2011	SNY
INTERVIEW/DISCUSSION	The Wheelhouse. December 10, 2010	SNY
PROMOTION: NEWS PROMO – SINGLE SPOT/CAMPAIGN	Summer of ’86 Launch Spot. February 16, 2011 (Doug Field, VP/Creative Director)	MSG
PROMOTION: NEWS PROMO – SPECIAL/IMAGE	Summer of ’86 Launch Spot. February 16, 2011	MSG
PROMOTION: PROGRAM PROMO - SPORTS	Mets Subway Series Pop Up. May 15, 2011 (John Zeigler, VP/Creative Director)	WPIX
	Subway Series Speech. May 21, 2011 (John Zeigler, VP/Creative Director)	WPIX
COMMERCIAL: SINGLE SPOT/CAMPAIGN	More Sports, More Testosterone. May 9, 2011 (Marie DeParis, Vice President of Marketing)	SNY
ON-CAMERA TALENT: REPORTER -SPORTS	Kevin Burkhardt	SNY/WPIX
ON-CAMERA TALENT: PERFORMER/NARRATOR	Robert A. Frahm. August 24, 2011	SNY
ON-CAMERA TALENT: SPORTS PLAY-BY-PLAY	Gary Cohen	SNY/WPIX
	Howie Rose	MSG+ (Islanders)
ON-CAMERA TALENT: SPORTS ANALYST	Keith Hernandez	SNY/WPIX
	Ron Darling	SNY/WPIX
	Ray Lucas	SNY (Jets)
DIRECTOR: POST-PRODUCTION	Roman Gackowski. March 1, 2011	MSG
WRITER: SPORTS	Ricky Recchia. April 28, 2011	SNY
PHOTOGRAPHER: SPORTS	Andrew Johnston. July 11, 2011	SNY
EDITOR: PROGRAM	Lee Umphred. March 1, 2011 (“Summer Of ’86”)	MSG
EDITOR: SHORT FORM	Brett Hauze. December 30, 2010	SNY
GRAPHICS: NEWS/PROGRAM	Mark Rusciano. January 16, 2011 ("SNY's Sportsnite: Jets 2011 Playoff Special”)	SNY
GRAPHICS: SPORTS	John Zeigler. April 10, 2011 (“Mets Pop Up”)	WPIX
	Mark Rusciano. May 20, 2011 (“Mets on SNY: 2011 Subway Showdown”)	SNY

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Baseball has been asleep for a while, welcome, the game is coming back

NOTE: this is what I'll call a "classic" post from 2 years ago.

Back when I was a bit younger (we'll call it the late '80s and early-mid '90s, a time when I wasn't quite a teenager), I remember running home from school on the day that Spring Training games finally began, or at least the day of the first broadcast on WFAN (for some reason, I had no, or chose not to use, a walkman). I would look forward to hearing the voices that I knew meant baseball for the first time after the long offseason.

On the eve of the fist Spring Training game, I bring you two treats.

First up is a 1 minute audio clip from the Mets first broadcast on WFAN from Spring Training 1998. I won't say any more, other than the voice is forver the voice of the Mets...


Second is about 6 1/2 minutes in length, coming from another 1998 Spring Training game. This one is most of half of an inning from a road game against St. Louis in Jupiter's inaugural season. The play-by-play voice again belongs to Bob Murphy with Gary Cohen along side.


I invite any readers to submit or link to their own Spring Training audio and video from the 1980s and 1990s.


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SNY, Mets-related programming nominated for NY Emmys

Read it here!

Included in the list are programs related to Last Play at Shea, Jerry Seinfeld's visit to the Mets SNY booth, and both Howie Rose (for his Islanders work) and Gary Cohen nominated for best Play-by-Play.

Category	Program	Network
ENTERTAINMENT: NEWS	Mets Weekly: Last Play at Shea. April 24, 2010	SNY
	Mets Weekly: Matthew Morrisson. May 29, 2010	SNY
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING	Kids Clubhouse. April 3, 2010.	SNY
SPORTS PROGRAMMING: PROGRAM SERIES	Mets Weekly. April 30, 2010	SNY
LIVE SPORTS EVENT: PROGRAM/SPECIAL	Mets on SNY: Jerry Seinfeld Visit. June 23, 2010	SNY
PROMOTION: SPORTS PROMO	Mets Opening Day Promo. March 15, 2010	SNY
	Mr. Met’s Ready. June 15, 2010	WPIX
ON-CAMERA TALENT: SPORTS PLAY-BY-PLAY	Gary Cohen	SNY
	Howie Rose	MSG+ (Islanders)
DIRECTOR: LIVE OR LIVE TO TAPE	Bill Webb. April 5, 2010	SNY

I think this is Gary's year...


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It was a Beautiful Day for Gary, Keith, and Ron

I've been posting more on the Facebook page for this blog than I have on the actual blog. And I did it again last night, and again today with photos.

For those that don't follow the site on facebook, you should. In any event, here are my photos from the day. I couldn't see a way to embed a Facebook photo album as a slideshow on a webpage, but Webshots can do it.



Just to recap briefly. The weather was beautiful. The Mets won. And in between, I got to see some of the friends I've made over the past 2 seasons through the self-sustained social network of Mets fans known as blogging.

• Gary Cohen and Ron Darling came out to sign autographs for the group. Mets catcher Josh Thole also came down to sign.
• The GKR group had t-shirts, sweatshirts, and even sweatpants for sale (among a few other things), where I purchased two different shirts of the new neon GKR design (really cool - one in Mets blue and one in black with long sleeves).
• They had their big raffle for a chance to win one of 100 gift baskets. I didn't win one this year, but I did last year and they're all pretty nice.
• They had scratch off tickets where every ticket gives you something. I played several times and game home with things like a Seton Hall Men's Basketball prize pack (which is good because it went to a long time Seton Hall fan - and if you didn't know, Gary Cohen calls play-by-play for Seton Hall on the radio) and a key chain of the Shea Scoreboard Skyline (one of my favorite items from Shea). I also won a GKR cookbook.
• We got to go onto the warning track for the National Anthem. That's always cool. I'd say I saw myself on the video screen except that it was hard to see it looking high up when you're that close (I was standing pretty close to CF).
• Kevin Burkhardt was hanging around the party area, posing for pictures and signing a few autographs. His son celebrated a birthday by joining the group on the warning track and he's at the age where he can run around the party area and it looks cute. He even sold me on buying one more scratch off ticket. Lynn Cohen (the group's organizer) brought out a cake for him to the CF seats and had those of us in the area sing to him.

And this recap wouldn't be right if I didn't do these two things. First, go to GaryKeithAndRon.com or PitchInForAGoodCause.org, not only to see their recap, video and/or photos (which I'm sure will be there soon) from the day, but to take a look at what they do and buy merchandise. The other is to say a big THANK YOU to Lynn Cohen and the GKR elves (lots of helpers - that's what they're called on their t-shirts) for putting this together. Everything on Saturday was great. It's such a great way to end the season as a group. These are all Mets fans doing something good.


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3 straight Sundays and watching TBS

Who made this schedule? The Mets play 3 straight Sunday night games, starting with tonight's game. I don't care who the team is, good or bad (on paper or in person), that's bad scheduling by MLB and ESPN. At least the Mets players don't have to travel too far between games (nothing that would make you think a Sunday day game or Monday off day were in order). It means 3 straight weeks of missing The Simpsons and Family Guy and having to DVR them. And it means 3 straight weeks of at least one built-in WFAN must-listen game (this weekend happened to see two of them).

Looking over the schedule, the Mets don't actually play 3 straight Sunday afternoon games until the end of May and the beginning of June. So I have MLB on TBS (no longer the home of the Braves) to keep me going baseball-wise during the afternoon. And I see SNY's own Ron Darling working the game (a little birdie told me he's on tap for each of the next 3 Sundays on TBS), paired with Brewers announcer Brian Anderson (a TBS MLB Playoffs veteran and now a TBS MLB Sunday regular).

This brings me to a question. TBS had an opening for their play-by-play role for Sunday games and the playoffs after Chip Caray was let go after last season. The job is being split between TBS/TNT's Ernie Johnson, an MLB novice, Dick Stockton, an aging MLB novice, and the afore mentioned Brian Anderson. Would Mets fans have minded sharing Gary Cohen with TBS and a national audience for a couple Sundays?. Keep in mind that he, in theory, could work the Sundays that the Mets were on ESPN (hence he wouldn't have a commitment to the Mets game of the day), like the next 3 Sundays. Maybe have Kevin Burkhardt fill in on 2 or 3 other Sundays (remember Kevin did play-by-play for a lot of Spring Training). We could live with that, right? And then he'd be in TBS's rotation for the playoffs (where they need 4 announcers, and have probably 1 opening this year). Maybe he'll make it into the rotation anyway. Maybe Gary's happy having these true off days.

What do you think?

I should note that this is my opinion, and not speculation from any other fan or any media insider.


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It's been 4 years

Can you believe it? It was 4 years ago today that a television network focused primarily on the New York Mets, our beloved team, launced on television sets around the region. No more playing second fiddle to playoff hockey and basketball on SportsChannel/FSN New York and MSG Network. No more having no identity. We had a channel all our own.

I remember the day the network went on the air. I asked my dad to tape the first few hours for me since I was in Port St. Lucie far away from any television set that would show the launch (actually, with the TV production trucks there to televise the game, I probably could have gotten a sneak peek of the first program). It was beautiful night at Tradition Field that Thursday night.

Fans were ready to welcome SNY into our existence with signs (I remember one very big one that later got on seen on TV). Fans were ready for a new era of our longtime radio voice now working on Television (how many people at the time would have recognized Gary Cohen by face without TV exposure). Fans were ready to welcome back Ron Darling to the family to work as a studio analyst and part-time game analyst. Little did we know that Ronnie would end up winning a NY Emmy award as a game analyst and catch the eyes of the people at Turner Sports for their upcoming MLB coverage. And fans were ready to anoint Keith Hernandez as the new lead analyst, moving him up a few notches ahead of Fran Healy and Tom Seaver. Boy are we glad that move was made.

There were new faces (Matt Yallof, Ron Darling, and Chris Cotter) on Mets coverage replacing some longtimers (Matt Loughlin, Fran Healy, Tom Seaver, Dave O'Brien, Ted Robinson, and the new radio voice of the Mets, Howie Rose). But fans were ready.

Over the past 4 seasons, SNY has proven to be top rate with their dedication to Mets telecasts. SNY has proven to be top rate with everything else they've produced as well. They embraced Big East sports and Rutgers Football, becoming the official home of the Big East in the New York area. Their newscasts are the best in NY (well ahead of what MSG used to produce - yes, I know that they're the only 30 minute local sportscast in NYC).

Trivia:
Who was the original sideline reporter for Mets telecasts when SNY first went on the air 4 years ago? It's NOT the reporter in this picture, but this is one of the fans with the sign.

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