Longtime New York Mets play-by-play voice Howie Rose has announced that the 2026 MLB season will be his last in the radio booth. Rose, who first started calling Mets games more than three decades ago as part of the WFAN radio team with Bob Murphy and Gary Cohen, has had various health battles over the years after being diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2021.
Over the last few years, Rose has worked under a reduced schedule and does not plan to call any road games during the upcoming regular season outside of Subway Series matchups at Yankee Stadium. Rose would call road games if the Mets qualify for the postseason, but during the regular season, those contests are primarily handled by Keith Raad and Pat McCarthy.
“I’m not planning on making a clean break,” Rose said. “Hopefully I’ll be involved now and then in some still to-be-determined capacity, because for me, letting go of the Mets isn’t hard. It’s impossible, and one of the biggest reasons for that is the bond that we’ve created with each other through all these years. The warmth, acceptance and, yes, love that you’ve shown me in so many ways for so long makes this all the more difficult, and I return those feelings in kind.”
During his time with the Mets, Rose has had various memorable calls of indelible moments in franchise history, including when the team clinched a World Series berth in 2015. Rose was also on the air when former 1B Pete Alonso hit a go-ahead three-run home run in Game 3 of the 2024 NL Wild Card Series, which proved to be the game-winning hit and stave off elimination against the Milwaukee Brewers. Rose has become synonymous with the call, “Put in the books!” that he delivers for Mets wins, and he also frequently serves as the host of on-field ceremonies at Citi Field.
Before joining the Mets’ broadcast team, Rose called games in the New York metropolitan area for other franchises, including as the primary television voice for the New York Islanders on SportsChannel and MSG Networks. Rose was behind the microphone for Stéphane Matteau’s series-clinching goal in Game 7 of the 1993-94 Eastern Conference Finals that moved the New York Rangers four wins away from a Stanley Cup championship.
Outside of calling games, Rose also worked on radio as the first weekday nighttime host on WFAN and also hosted the “Mets Extra” show. His first job out of Queens College was as a weekend night announcer on Sports Phone, and he proceeded to become an update anchor for WCBS as well.
“His passion for the Mets has carried across the airwaves and into the homes and hearts of fans everywhere, bringing the franchise’s most memorable moments to life,” Mets co-owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “Generations of Mets fans have grown up listening to Howie call the game with authenticity, energy, and a deep appreciation for what this team means to our community.”
