Howie Rose Announces Final Season

[G-Fafif]

Howie has announced he will hang up his mic at the end of the 2026 season, postseason, and City Hall celebration following the World Series celebration, the last parts hopefully.

[Benjamin Grimm]

So he's going to put it in the books. He just turned 72 last month. I hope he has a long, healthy, and happy retirement. (I'd like one of those myself, come to think of it.)

[Centerfield]

Nope. I won’t allow it. 
 

Work that mic until you keel over Howie. He hasn’t lost a beat. 

[metirish]

A class act , loved catching gay dames on the drive home

 

 

[Gwreck]

To be just a tiny bit of a dark cloud…I think Howie actually had lost a beat or two in recent years.  It might be in part because he’s had some recent changes with his partners, but he was leaning a bit too far his self-appointed curmudgeon status, developing a bit of main character syndrome.

That all said, this will be a tremendous loss for everyone.

[metirish]

I would agree with that, Howie did have some recent health issues which likely didn't help too. I like Keith Raad on PBP 

[Benjamin Grimm]

I rarely listen on the radio anymore. I have MLB.tv, so I can watch most games, other than those annoying Apple TV games and similar. And I work from home, so there's not much opportunity to listen in the car. But on the occasions that I do listen to the radio broadcast, it will be strange not to hear Howie. Even to an infrequent radio listen, Howie Rose is a familiar voice, especially when he hosts the on-field ceremonies. (I hope they still let him do that. I imagine that Gary Cohen is salivating for the chance to take that over.) He will be missed.

[A Boy Named Seo]

4 hours ago, Gwreck said:

To be just a tiny bit of a dark cloud…I think Howie actually had lost a beat or two in recent years.  It might be in part because he’s had some recent changes with his partners, but he was leaning a bit too far his self-appointed curmudgeon status, developing a bit of main character syndrome.

That all said, this will be a tremendous loss for everyone.

I'm in agreement. No shade intended to Howie on his swan song, but I grew kinda weary of the grumpy grandpa vibes. A remarkable career just the same. Forever in the books.

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

If he had a number, we could retire it! 

A key part of the Mets experience for nearly 40 years. 

 

[seawolf17]

9 minutes ago, Marshmallowmilkshake said:

If he had a number, we could retire it! 

A key part of the Mets experience for nearly 40 years. 

 

Don't give them any ideas.

[Cowtipper]

Honestly, I like Wayne Randazzo more. 

[Lefty Specialist]

The only time I listen to the radio these days is when a game is on another network (which is probably about 15 or so games a year).  Always comforting to hear Howie's voice. He'd been telegraphing this for a while, with his health issues and reduced schedule, so it's not a surprise.  But it's still a little depressing that another voice from my younger days is signing off. 

I worry about GKR, as Keith is 73 and Gary and Ron are in their late 60's now..  The people they've tried to groom over the years as fillin color guys, like Daniel Murphy and Todd Zeile, just don't measure up.  And nobody can replace the best play-by-play man in the business.

[ashie62]

I don't listen to sports on the radio anymore but Howie's voice is as familiar as anyone to me. Then of course there's the Matteau call for which he may be remembered most for

 

 

 

[Frayed Knot]

Ronnie, the baby of the GKR group, turns 66 this summer.

[stevejrogers]

NM

[seawolf17]

We have been incredibly fortunate to have the talent we've had in both of our booths for the past, oh, I don't know, 65 years or thereabouts. It's really remarkable. Even Tim McCarver was brilliant as a Mets announcer before he went nuts.

[stevejrogers]

Love to petition someone to get Nelson as a mic tribute up among the numbers there with Murph and Ralph

[Benjamin Grimm]

This is arguably the best thing on the Internet:

 

"This may be his last Mets at bat. He could make it his most memorable."

[Lefty Specialist]

Man, that never, ever gets old.

[Ceetar]

Well let's hope THAT never happens again. 

[Benjamin Grimm]

20 minutes ago, Lefty Specialist said:

Man, that never, ever gets old.

I agree. It's a great way to generate goosebumps.

[Frayed Knot]

On 3/19/2026 at 5:13 PM, ashie62 said:

... Howie's voice is as familiar as anyone to me. Then of course there's the Matteau call for which he may be remembered most for

 

 

 

That's probably true, especially given that the Rangers then won the next (and final) round to break a very long drought*. But I think this one was a better call.

I remember listening to WFAN the morning after that Game 7 Matteau goal and whoever was working that morning (it was a Saturday) naturally had Howie on the phone as a guest. Howie, who clearly had little sleep and was a bit groggy, had just heard a playback of his own call for the first time. And his initial reaction was to be a bit embarrassed by it. He felt he lost his cool by kind of just screaming at the beginning before eventually settling down.

With the Pete call he conveyed the emotional of it all but without going over the top like you sometimes hear from some student announcer. Also, the nature of baseball gave him the time to set up the AB (in a way that hockey can't) and he did a great job of that [possible last AB as a Met, possible last AB of that year's NYM season, etc.] plus he built onto the tension with each pitch that led up to the final one..

And look, I'm sure he's gotten over whatever qualms he had about the Matteau call, especially given how many people bring it up to him now 30+ years later.

 

 

 

* it's just occurring to me that it's getting close to as long since 1994 and it was from 1940 until the NINE-TEEN-FOR-TEE chants began to show up (mid-80s sometime). Of course it's not like Islander fans can use that now given their last half-century but, man!, two in now 86 years is almost getting into Cubs/Red Sox territory.

[Fman99]

We have listened to Howie on countless family car trips over the years. Both of my kids have commented that hearing his voice reminds them of their childhoods. So there you go. He's a gem 

[Edgy MD]

I lose access to TV Mets for all Nats games, as well as Orioles games.  That's no small amount of being consigned to the radio feed.

Howie is a brother.