New York Mets radio broadcaster Howie Rose Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

While it’s highly unlikely they would have gotten a discount, New York Mets fans were hopeful that their team was going to do some Black Friday shopping.

That’s because the team’s radio play-by-play broadcaster, Howie Rose, took to social media on Friday to share that some news regarding Shohei Ohtani’s free agency could be on its way.

“Hearing there might be Ohtani news today,” Rose posted to X (formerly Twitter) at 11:29 a.m. ET.

Considering Ohtani’s status as the most coveted free agent in recent memory, Rose’s post took off, not just with Mets or baseball fans, but sports fans in general. After all, with the Mets being one of the primary suitors for the two-time American League MVP, the team’s Hall of Fame broadcaster hinting that news was potentially imminent was certainly notable.

Nearly an hour later, however, Rose threw water on the same fire he started. Replying to his post, the 69-year-old clarified that not only was his reporting far from certain, but his information had since changed.

“Operative terms….might and today,” Rose wrote. “Hearing now it was premature. No misdirection intended. Well, at least people are paying attention.”

As one reply in Rose’s mentions noted, you can share any news you want to by adding the qualifier of “might.” Obviously, nobody needs Rose or any other media member to tell them that Ohtani “might” sign somewhere today. That’s a post that could have been sent on any day since the World Series ended.

Whether Rose — who has never been one to bite his tongue on social media — had solid information that changed after he sent the initial post or he prematurely connected some dots before being informed otherwise, the reality is that there’s little upside to reporting what “might” happen. And that rings especially true when the news you’re hinting at doesn’t come to fruition, as appears to be the case in this particular instance.

[Howie Rose on X]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.