Legendary Mets radio voice Howie Rose, sporting a striped blue-and-orange tie, spoke to the press ahead of New York’s final home game of the 2026 season against the Philadelphia Phillies.
In the team’s win on Saturday, Rose – who announced his upcoming retirement in March – signed off for what may be the final time, given Sunday’s inclement weather.
“First of all, I just want to thank the Mets organization for honoring me,” he began. “They were adamant about wanting to reschedule this ceremony for the opening weekend of next year, and I’m so flattered by that.”
“There are so many emotions involved, running around inside me right now,” Rose admitted. “There’s a certain melancholy about reaching the end of a career, but God-willing, we’ll all reconvene here next year, and it’ll be a party!”
Rose took the time to acknowledge the seminal figures who made his incredible career journey possible.
“There are three people I want to recognize as the reason that I’m here: My wife Barbara, my daughter Alyssa, and my daughter Chelsea,” before pausing so the trio could receive applause from the packed press room. “I would not be here today without their indulgence, their support, and their love.”
He also recognized the role his two siblings – his sister, Debbie, and his brother, Bruce – played in his life.
“My eternal gratitude is for everyone connected with the New York Mets,” he continued, singling out interim manager Andy Green to thank him for his work during these last few months.
Rose also thanked former Mets and Yankees manager Joe Torre, who encouraged a younger Rose to embrace the emotions of the game and channel them into his commentary.
As with any baseball radio commentator worth their salt, Rose loves to tell stories to engage with the audience, and he shared a special one which was quite fitting for the occasion.
“There’s some ironic symmetry to how this has worked out today, because the New York Mets were scheduled to play their very first game in the National League on April 10th, 1962, in St. Louis,” Rose explained. “Y’know what happened? It was raining, and a whole bunch of [Mets players] got stuck in the hotel elevator on the way downstairs to the lobby.”
“It took a long time for the players to get to the ballpark, and once they got there, the game was postponed, so all I would offer as a suggestion for everybody today is to take the steps,” he smiled as the room erupted into laughter.
Rose is a New Yorker through and through, having been born and raised in Brooklyn before attending high school and college in Queens. That certainly impacted his sports fandom – and by extension, his career aspirations – from a young age.
“I always wanted to work for a team in New York, a team that I love, and I had the opportunity to work for two of them – the Mets and Rangers, two teams which controlled my mood growing up,” said Rose.
“In retrospect, I really did feel that if I was working in New York, I didn’t care about working anywhere else,” he declared. “If someone had told me about my career when I was age 15, sitting in the upper deck of Shea Stadium, I wouldn’t have believed it. The wildest fiction writer couldn’t have come up with it. I am very, very, very blessed.”
While Rose is excited with the free time retirement will bring, he admits that stepping away from the microphone isn’t easy.
“I’m going to miss everything about it, because this is really all I know how to do.” he chuckled, before switching gears to commend the foundational role that radio occupies in the sports media landscape. “Radio is the most intimate medium. You have to call, to craft, to describe. To me, that’s the greatest challenge in sports broadcasting, painting that picture.”
Rose was asked how he wanted Mets fans to remember him, a question that clearly meant a lot to him.
“As one of them,” he responded after he gave it some thought. “We have the same sensibilities and same understanding of what the ballclub has meant to us. I was just the lucky one that got out of the upper deck and into the broadcast booth.”
All in all, it was clear that Rose hoped to have the opportunity to be on the call one final time on Sunday afternoon.
His parting words from the podium?
“Let’s hope we get a game in!”
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