Goodbye Wayne Randazzo

[bmfc1]

I'm sorry to say that Wayne Randazzo is leaving the Mets' radio booth:

https://www.newsday.com/sports/media/wayne-randazzo-mets-radio-wcbs-gk11iacchttps://www.newsday.com/sports/media/wayne-randazzo-mets-radio-wcbs-gk11iacc

This article mentions an opening on Angels' TV. I guess that's good for low-pressure games with a limited audience. There is also an opening on the Cardinals' radio network and Wayne is a midwest guy.

Edited December 19, 2022 by Guest

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

That sucks. He wasn't so much Howie's sidekick than a good announcer in his own right. And I think we all knew he'd be headed to Chicago to do the Cubs or White Sox at some point.

[Edgy MD]

Radio is dying space. Howie can gracefully fade out with the institution, but if you're under 60, you've got to take the first chance you get to jump to telecasts in whatever market you can find.

[whippoorwill]

Whew I thought you meant Wayne Garrett

[metirish]

Good for Wayne , bad for us , Wayne is an excellent PBP man , has great chemistry with Howie , but like others have said , gotta take the telly gig

[G-Fafif]

A case of “how ya keep 'em down on the farm…?” even if the farm was second banana in New York. His fill-in work on SNY when Gare vacationed was sublime as well. Good luck all around.



(And I had a Wayne Garrett scare as well.)

[bmfc1]

I changed the title.

[whippoorwill]

Good idea lol

[batmagadanleadoff]

He said he left the Mets because of Chris Young's vision.

[vtmet7]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=115119 time=1671483226 user_id=68]
He said he left the Mets because of Chris Young's vision.

[kcmets]

I'd become quite used to him and he will be missed. I hate breaking in new ones.

They're like dress shoes, takes a few years for them to be totally comfortable.

[Edgy MD]

Hagin to Randazzo gave them some nice Wayne continuity.

[bmfc1]

Wayne RANDAZZO is on his way to Anaheim to be the TV voice of the Angels.

[kcmets]

Nice promotion, too good to turn down! Good luck to him.

[Edgy MD]

I feel like I recall a year in between his Met and Brave tenures when Joe Torre was an Angels broadcaster. Then I remember that there was no break for him in between the Mets and the Braves.



Maybe it was after Atlanta. Or maybe it was a dream I had last week.



OE: Looking it up now, it seems he spent six years in the Angels booth between the Braves and the Cards. Wow.

[G-Fafif]

MET WAYNE POWER RANKINGS



1. Garrett: Last played for the Mets in 1976, yet two Mets fans worried a "goodbye Wayne" was directed toward him joining the Angels, so to speak, 46 years later, attesting to the redhead's spiritual staying power

2. Randazzo: As noted, heckuva promising announcer, even on the wrong coast all of a sudden; eight seasons in the booth matched Garrett's eight-season run in the field

3. Kirby: Not much as a 1998 Met, seemed like a good coach/egg in 2022

4. Graham: Part of the package received for Frank Thomas in 1964; coached Phil Humber at Rice prior to Mets drafting him No. 1 in 2004 (also coached Roger Clemens as an undergrad, but we'll forgive him)

5. Twitchell: I saw him face Gaylord Perry on a Tuesday night in 1979; it went better for Perry

6. Housie: I saw him line up for Opening Day in 1993 and I honest to god thought "who the hell is that?" which doesn't happen often after an entire Spring Training devoted to obsessing on who might be lining up on Opening Day

7. Hagin: Haven't thought much about the veteran voice with the deep pipes since he took them out of town; just as well for his sake

[Fman99]

That's too bad. I enjoyed his work in the booth. Hopefully the next Wayne they bring in is more Randazzish than Haginy.

[Frayed Knot]

Goodbye Wayne Randazzo

Definitely one of the oddest and least successful of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin collaborations.

[whippoorwill]

Lol

[Lefty Specialist]

They did break in a guy to work with Wayne on the games Howie didn't do last year (his name escapes me), but if Howie's working a reduced schedule in 2023 they're gonna need another voice in the booth.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is Steve Albert available?

[kcmets]

Anthony Recker seems to have popped up a lot on stuff and could be like

a hot commodity in the making. No idea if he has play-by-play skillz though.



Plus, he has a good face for radio!!

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Lefty Specialist wrote: They did break in a guy to work with Wayne on the games Howie didn't do last year (his name escapes me), but if Howie's working a reduced schedule in 2023 they're gonna need another voice in the booth.

That guy wasn't bad. Not quite a personality yet but his game calling was acceptable

[kcmets]

Is/was he this guy? -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Burke_%28sportscaster%29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Burke_(sportscaster)

[G-Fafif]

Jake Eisenberg was the primary fill-in guy. He's now full-time with KC.



Burke, hockey-busy in spring, has been mentioned as Sterling's successor on WMFY.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Is/was he this guy? -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Burke_%28sportscaster%29https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brendan_Burke_(sportscaster)

No burke does the Islanders games and is looked at as John Sterlings heir apparent as he pinch hit for him last season.



Burke is very good at hockey and has nyc Bona-fides as he's the son of a NY post sports editor

[G-Fafif]

Cali-based Josh Lewin, busy in the fall, seems an obvious call for the Western swings Howie prefers not to make.