The 11 Greatest Broadcast Calls in Mets History

[batmagadanleadoff]

That's the topic that The Athletic tackles today.



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



Let's cycle through these. I'll spread 'em out, so long as youse promise to click on the link. Writers' credit and all.



11. “The Mighty Mite has become the hitting star for the New York Mets.”



Lindsey Nelson, Mets vs. Orioles (Game 5, 1969 World Series)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLoQ2iQo5Zohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLoQ2iQo5Zo

There were wilder moments throughout the Mets' World Series upset of the Orioles in 1969, but Al Weis becoming an offensive juggernaut for five games may have been the least realistic. Weis slashed .215/.259/.291 that season and had hit all of six career home runs. In the Series, he reached base nine times in 16 plate appearances and hit this game-tying homer in the seventh inning of the clinching game. Nelson, the long-time Mets' announcer who had been called up for the national television broadcast, revealed his own surprise in how he called it, the way his inflection changes when he sees Don Buford break back. “The Mighty Mite has become the hitting star for the New York Mets” was the perfect summary of how upside-down the whole Series had become.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Got around those bases pretty quick, didn't he

[Ceetar]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Got around those bases pretty quick, didn't he

you know, I wonder if anyone's ever done a trot time to # of career home runs comparison. I feel like the guys that don't hit many tend to run faster.

[Edgy MD]

That tends to be true. But then there are pitchers who don't hit many at all, and then hit one, and take a month to circle the bases.



Also, there are situational homer. A postseason homer that changes the momentum of the game but there is still plenty more to do to get the win? You run the fuck around those bases.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy MD wrote: Also, there are situational homer. A postseason homer that changes the momentum of the game but there is still plenty more to do to get the win? You run the fuck around those bases.

But then .... this....





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1i9GdN7_bEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1i9GdN7_bE

[batmagadanleadoff]

None of the 11 calls on The Athletic's list pre-date the 1969 season. That probably has more to do with video availability than anything else. 'Cause ya gotta figure there's gotta be some doozies from the Polo Grounds days.

Edited June 18, 2020 by Guest

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

It's hard to tell exactly from the clip but safe to say Weis did a sub-20 second circuit.



Cespedes is at least 24 seconds here, or 20% slower:

[YOUTUBE]1-JH0oQwVMM[/YOUTUBE]

[batmagadanleadoff]

10. “Endy Chavez saved the day!”



Gary Cohen, Mets vs. Cardinals (Game 7, 2006 National League Championship Series)







https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCDBuYG1-_Mhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCDBuYG1-_M

Like Endy Chavez on the play, Cohen's timing was perfect. 2006 was his first season calling TV on SNY, and WFAN had invited him to do two innings in the radio booth during the postseason, “so it was complete happenstance I happened to be in the booth that inning,” he said. “Every pitch in a tie game in a Game 7 is of such great import. When (Scott) Rolen hit the ball, there was every reason to think it was going to be a home run,” Cohen said. “Watching Endy streak like a blur, never break stride, jump as high as he did, catch the ball in the absolute end of the webbing and pull it back was one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen. Given the circumstances, I thought it was one of the most spectacular plays in a pressure situation I'd ever seen.” And Cohen translated that to the radio listener in real time: “Endy Chavez saved the day! … He went to the apex of his leap and caught it in the webbing of his glove with his elbow up above the fence. A miraculous play!” Cohen finished the call, “The play of the year, the play maybe of the franchise history for Endy Chavez!” Alas. Said Cohen: “It's the greatest call of a game-saving catch that didn't save the game that ever was.”

[Ceetar]

if that's 10, nah, calling it now, that's underrated, if we're focusing on the calls. It captures the moment, and immediately, that it was a home run robbery (that was a radio call right?), how much of a robbery it was, the doubled off, that it ended the inning. You could hear him switch from calling a home run to detailing what actually happened. That Oliver Perez 'escaped', which reminds you that this wasn't Pedro Martinez on the mound, that it was someone we were extremely nervous about.



And in that moment, it WAS the franchise play. If they win the game, it's easily #2 all-time, so 10 seems a huge drop.

[Edgy MD]

Man, Bautista owned Dyson from the moment he stepped into the box there. It's like Dyson had nothing to throw, and knew anything in the zone was toast.

[batmagadanleadoff]

9. “Scooter and the Big Man bust the city in half!”



Gary Cohen, Mets vs. Marlins (2019)



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJNsWG5PfRshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJNsWG5PfRs

Cohen's ode to Bruce Springsteen's “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” followed back-to-back home runs from Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso that first tied the game and then put the Mets ahead last August against Miami. Coming on a night when Citi Field was jumping in the midst of the Mets' late-summer surge in the standings, it got across so much of the excitement of New York's young core.

[MFS62]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Got around those bases pretty quick, didn't he you know, I wonder if anyone's ever done a trot time to # of career home runs comparison. I feel like the guys that don't hit many tend to run faster.

And then there was Bartolo ...

Later

[G-Fafif]

Not mentioned by Britton, but as great a Gary Cohen call as there was, from June 11, 2005:

Fastball driven in the air toward right-centerfield…chasing back is Finley…on the track, reaches out…CAN'T GET IT! Kicks it away! It's rolling toward the corner! Anderson around second! He's on his way to third! Finley's tracked it down! Anderson is being…WAVED AROUND! He's comin' to the plate…the relay throw…he slides…SAFE! It's an inside-the-park-home run! And it ties the game! Marlon Anderson with an inside-the-park home run…he is shaken up…Jose Molina arguing the call, Mike Scioscia out as well, but Marlon Anderson has tied the game at two and two with an inside-the-park home run. Finley tried to field it on the warning track, kicked it toward the corner, and Anderson came all the way around ahead of the relay throw by Adam Kennedy…Anderson still down on his knees as Mike Herbst and Willie Randolph look after him, but with his FIRST home run as a New York MET, Marlon Anderson has tied the game, and as he gets to his feet, he gets a ROUSING ovation from the crowd at Shea Stadium!

[batmagadanleadoff]

8. “Here comes The Glider! Oh, watch this scene!”



Bob Murphy, Mets vs. Cardinals (1969)



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYHOM81SlfEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYHOM81SlfE

Nelson's call of the final out that night is more famous — =#4000FF]“At 9:07, the Mets are champions of the eastern division of the National League” — but Murphy's description of Ed Charles' first-inning home run captured the surreal spirit of the night right away. Steve Carlton had struck out 19 Mets the last time they'd faced him; this time, Charles' two-run shot followed Donn Clendenon's three-run shot and sent Carlton to the showers in the first. The game became a nine-inning celebration afterward — one that started as “The Glider” rounded third and reached an ecstatic dugout.

[batmagadanleadoff]

7. “Will it stay fair?”



Gary Thorne, Mets vs. Braves (2000)



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBFXlMkwWjUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBFXlMkwWjU

The most memorable regular-season inning in team history had transpired gradually to this point. It was still 8-2 with two outs and one man on, before consecutive singles, four straight walks and Edgardo Alfonzo's game-tying two-run single. As Mike Piazza stepped in against Terry Mulholland, Thorne seemed to be taking advantage of the catcher's well-known tendency to take the first pitch, summarizing the scene. But he was still ready when Piazza rocketed one down the left-field line, lingering on the only question about it, “Will it stay faaaaair?” It did.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Glider with two sub-20 trots. Last one approximately 14

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

These vids may not be accurate to the calls I realize

[batmagadanleadoff]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: These vids may not be accurate to the calls I realize

They're all accurate. But the Ed Charles vid starts at the 23 second mark, after Clendenon's HR. That's because, the only web-available video of that Ed Charles HR is, apparently, part of a much longer video.



6. “Put it in the books! The history books!”



Howie Rose, Mets vs. Cardinals (2012)



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz5FZI4NhBYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz5FZI4NhBY

Describing his own terrific call of Johan Santana's no-hitter, Cohen gave away his first impulse: “My first thought after I called it and we went to break was, ‘Boy I can't wait to hear how Howie called it.'” Rose embraced the descriptions required of a radio broadcast: “Johan sweeps a little dirt away form the left of the pitching rubber, steps behind the rubber, tugs once at the bill of his cap, takes a deep breath and steps to the third-base side of the rubber.” After Santana struck out David Freese, Rose mentioned this was the 8,020th game in franchise history — immediately contextualizing the accomplishment. And rather than launch into his usual “Put it in the books!” to punctuate a win right away, he waited more than 50 seconds, and then added the perfect coda: “The history books!” Rose said that patience is what he's proudest of in that call. “As I learned from watching Gary, you have to describe,” he said. “The minute that ball nestled in Josh Thole's glove wasn't the minute for me to get up on some soapbox and do some song and dance that's just particular to my own repertoire. This was the most unique scene in the history of the club, really. So I had to talk about everything. Bullpen running out, the dugout, where's Terry Collins? What's he doing? Because you remember what a heart attack he had going that night. So that's all those things you've got to report. And that's thanks to Gary. So the fact that there wasn't a little while until I said, ‘Put it in the books,' makes me feel good. That reinforces that I did my job.”

[batmagadanleadoff]

5. “This one has a chance!”



Howie Rose, Mets vs. Braves (2001)







https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



Slide on over to the two hour and 48 minute mark for "the call"



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVEHuRnJbSUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVEHuRnJbSU

“That wasn't a call to me,” Rose said. “TV calls, you punctuate … The picture's announcing the game for you.” Allow me to disagree with Rose on his own call here, because if all he's doing is punctuating a moment here, he's doing it perfectly — and in a way that has resonated in the nearly two decades since. The first game back in New York after Sept. 11 was, as you'd expect, not an easy one to call. Rose and analyst Fran Healy had been told before the game by the network executives to remember the solemnity of the event — to hold down some of the emotions and keep the game in perspective. “Sports is the only reality television that exists. You can't tell me how to act,” Rose remembered. “That's what they want, so I'll do my best.” In spite of those instructions, Rose's inflection on Piazza's go-ahead home run off Steve Karsay was perfect, thanks to the hopeful lilt in, “This one has a chance!” One more nugget: Part of the pregame advice was to avoid certain trigger words all night, like “explode.” So how did Healy describe the crowd's reaction? “This place exploded! It's been waiting to explode all night. Whoa!”

[Ceetar]

The will it stay fair one, of course, was Fireworks night. It was sold out and everyone was still there. I don't know if it cracks the top 11 without that crowd noise.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I remember the "Will It Stay Fair" game very well, but I heard the radio call.



Was driving with Wifey-to-be out of NYC to Maine and pleased to have an important ballgame to listen to on the radio as we went. Of course major traffic congestion in CT and and a crap Met game in a big spot made it so frustrating I was literally punching the dashboard (it was a rental car) and beginning to turn the tuning knob, only to come back again momentarily because back then I had a purehearted innocent's faith in the Mets that has since receded. Traffic finally eased by the 8th inning we raced into New England night only to be increasingly leaning into the sound as the signal faded. What a night.

[batmagadanleadoff]

4. “They win the damn thing!”



Bob Murphy, Mets vs. Phillies (1990)



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv6TL00y-VAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv6TL00y-VA

A 10-3 lead had evaporated quickly on the Mets in the ninth inning in Philadelphia, as allowing the first eight hitters to reach base is never a good closing strategy. (The Phillies had made it 10-8 with the bases loaded and nobody out in the final frame.) A double-play grounder had cut the lead to one but gotten John Franco within an out of an escape — and when Tommy Herr lined out to short, Murphy captured how every Mets fan felt: “The Mets win the ballgame! They win the damn thing by a score of 10-9! Oh, wow!”

[Edgy MD]

Last out courtesy of a rare Mario Diaz appearance.

[ashie62]

Remember the dang game call. I was outside on a warm night with a small transistor radio

[Gwreck]

The Scooter/Big Man call was fun but greatest call? It seemed a bit gimmicky.



Additionally, it wasn't even the first time Cohen had used it. He had used it in 2018 when Conforto and Bruce hit back-to-back homers off Scherzer.

[batmagadanleadoff]

3. “Have you ever seen anything like this?”



Bob Costas, Mets vs. Braves (Game 5, 1999 National League Championship Series)



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



Bob Costas' calls starts at the 41 second mark.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhjkOu9VZgkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhjkOu9VZgk

Costas' call — in the rain, in the 15th inning, in a series that had already delivered high drama — captured the full scope of Robin Ventura's grand-slam single, his voice building as he realized the drive to right cleared the fence. Costas took full advantage of doing a television broadcast, letting the images of a madcap Shea Stadium crowd and the Mets' premature mobbing of Ventura between first and second tell the story, before asking, “Have you ever seen anything like this?” Cohen's radio call is awfully good, too, with Cohen filling in so many of those details you couldn't see while listening to the game.

Bonus material: Gary Cohen's radio call:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo7yUdD-NhAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo7yUdD-NhA

[Frayed Knot]

Rose said that patience is what he's proudest of in [the Santana no-hitter] call. “As I learned from watching Gary, you have to describe,” he said. “The minute that ball nestled in Josh Thole's glove wasn't the minute for me to get up on some soapbox and do some song and dance that's just particular to my own repertoire. This was the most unique scene in the history of the club, really. So I had to talk about everything. Bullpen running out, the dugout, where's Terry Collins? What's he doing? Because you remember what a heart attack he had going that night. So that's all those things you've got to report. And that's thanks to Gary. So the fact that there wasn't a little while until I said, ‘Put it in the books,' makes me feel good. That reinforces that I did my job.”

Howie's early most famous call was his "Matteau, Matteau" chant in the Double-OT win for the Rangers over the Devils which sent them to the SC final. What I remember about his initial reaction to hearing it first played back to him -- as a guest on WFAN early the following morning -- was to be somewhat embarrassed that he didn't do his job on that one, that he got lost in the moment and reverted to the fan that he had once been. Not sure if all the praise he has received since over that call has changed his mind over the years or he still has tinges of regret over that one.

Two very different situations of course, a mid-season highlight vs a semi-final clinching win, but you wonder if the lessons of that first one were another part of what informed the presumably older and wiser version of himself to take stock of the bigger picture when making a call that would surely live on for years to come.

[Edgy MD]

I'm not sure consensus on what makes a good call is necessarily coming to the fore.



Tim McCarver, Steve Zabriski, Francis X. Healy, and Ralph McFerrin Kiner on the outside looking in so far.

[batmagadanleadoff]

2. “This is one of the great moments in the history of baseball.”



Gary Cohen, Mets vs. Padres



https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/https://theathletic.com/1878334/2020/06/18/the-11-greatest-broadcast-calls-in-mets-history/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFsq9FQBlchttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVFsq9FQBlc

The great broadcast calls don't all have to be game-winners or pivotal playoff moments. Great broadcast calls can happen in the middle of a largely meaningless regular-season game, especially when the sport is baseball, as Cohen and his SNY cohorts have shown for almost 15 years now. And there might not be a moment from an otherwise meaningless regular-season game that stands out more in Mets history than Bartolo Colon's May home run against the Padres in 2016. “It's outta here!” Cohen yelled, his voice nearly cracking. “Bartolo has done it! The impossible has happened!” “This is one of those things you could never possibly anticipate or prepare for,” Cohen told The Athletic's Jayson Stark earlier this year. “I think that's the beauty of the whole thing … The incredulity that you could hear in my voice, as I'm saying, ‘It's outta here!' — I've said those words thousands of times. But I don't think I've ever said them in quite that way, because you could hear the shock, and that's literally what we were feeling.” Cohen summarized it perfectly in the moment: “This is one of the great moments in the history of baseball! Bartolo Colon has gone deep.” “There was a certain tongue-in-cheek quality to that comment,” he told Stark. “It's a singular moment. It's something that could only have happened to that person, in that place, in that time … For that guy, for that fan base, to do what he did was spectacular, in a way that almost could not be duplicated.”

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

=Gwreck post_id=39014 time=1592589647 user_id=56]
The Scooter/Big Man call was fun but greatest call? It seemed a bit gimmicky.



Additionally, it wasn't even the first time Cohen had used it. He had used it in 2018 when Conforto and Bruce hit back-to-back homers off Scherzer.