Hopefully, you’re sitting down when you’re reading this, but appears that WFAN doesn’t have the pulse on the New York Mets clubhouse after all.
On Thursday, Mets Hall of Fame radio voice Howie Rose pushed back on the idea — which was perpetrated by WFAN — that any of the Mets broadcasters are at odds with the team’s clubhouse, particularly play-by-play voice Gary Cohen.
“FYI. Before any other silly controversies are created, please know that Gary Cohen is in the Mets clubhouse every day. Before Every. Single Game all season unless he has the day off. Okay. On to the next fabricated non story,” Rose wrote on Twitter/X.
FYI. Before any other silly controversies are created, please know that Gary Cohen is in the Mets clubhouse every day. Before Every. Single Game all season unless he has the day off. Okay. On to the next fabricated non story.
— Howie Rose (@HowieRose) November 16, 2023
This became a story earlier this week when Carlos Mendoza was formally introduced to the media as the 25th manager in team history Tuesday afternoon. And during his opening monologue, Mendoza invoked Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling, a broadcast trio universally beloved by Mets fans.
"I can't wait to meet and have deep conversations with Gary, Keith and Ron."
GKR 🤝 Carlos Mendoza pic.twitter.com/N2NTmxfUKQ
— SNY (@SNYtv) November 14, 2023
“I can’t wait to meet and have deep conversations with Gary, Keith and Ron,” Mendoza said during his introductory press conference.
While the sentiment was appreciated, some questioned the authenticity of it. And by some, we mean WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti, who hasn’t exactly rubbed elbows with former players turned broadcasters in the current market. So, with that, Giannotti suggested that Mendoza was fed the line because of what he believes to be growing animosity between the broadcasters and players.
“I have heard, I have been told, that Gary, Keith and Ron over the last number of years are never down talking to the players anymore,” Giannotti said. “They don’t, and the players and the managers and the coaches, they can’t stand the fact that these guys are so popular, and they sit up there and pontificate in the booth, but they’re never down there talking to the players and they’re like bigger than life.
“My theory on this is that someone was needling Gary, Keith, and Ron and gave Mendoza that line. Because he goes, ‘Deep conversations.’ That is my take on this.”
Gary, Keith and Ron vs the Mets clubhouse? pic.twitter.com/puBCKtQxye
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 15, 2023
It would be surprising if we see any of the Mets players touch this topic unprovoked. However, one would think they would respond positively to the influence of the broadcasters considering their immense popularity among the fanbase. This past season, Cohen mentioned chatting with Francisco Lindor on numerous occasions in the clubhouse, and Pete Alonso paid tribute to Keith Hernandez with his signature mustache and stirrups on the day the former had his number retired by the Mets in 2022.
While that doesn’t totally absolve them of Giannotti’s “accusations,” Rose’s word should be enough. Cohen being in the clubhouse every day, isn’t a tell-tale sign that Darling and Hernandez are, but we should be able to take broadcasters at their word. They are among the most respected broadcast booths, if not the most respected booth in baseball. In fact, SNY’s Mets broadcast booth ranked No. 2 in our 2023 MLB local broadcaster rankings.
So, let’s turn the page. The Mets have enough things to worry about this offseason, and this doesn’t appear to be one of them.
