It’s been years since the New York Mets had this much fanfare around their team and play-by-play voice Gary Cohen made use of the added attention with an important public service announcement.
After taking the weekend off, Cohen traveled to the nation’s capital by himself as the Mets opened their three-game set with the Washington Nationals Monday night. And during Cohen’s trek from his home state of Connecticut to Washington D.C., the Mets longtime play-by-play voice realized he needed to remind his fellow drivers of some traffic etiquette.
A driving PSA from Gary: if you're driving slow, stay out of the left lane. pic.twitter.com/GPNTClbjkF
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 2, 2022
“I’d just like to point out as a public service to those folks with whom we share the road that – the left lane is designed for those who like to work at a more rapid pace within the legal parameters of what’s acceptable,” Cohen kindly ranted. “So that if you’re not someone who likes to move at a particularly rapid pace, could you move over to the right?
“That’s my public service announcement for tonight. We love all you people who drive. Just, if you’re not gonna go fast, stay out of the left lane.”
Cohen tried his best at offering the PSA politely. He acknowledged everyone has their own comfort level of driving within the speed limit and offered love to those who might want to move at a slower pace. But it’s hard not to envision the scenario of Cohen growing increasingly angry as he battled summer construction paired with New York City traffic and those returning from a weekend at the Jersey Shore.
A trek that, in theory, shouldn’t take much more than four hours, can easily be extended to eight. I don’t imagine Cohen being much of a bird flipper on the road, but if anyone has pictures to prove me wrong, I’d love to see them.
Keith Hernandez was in the booth and could relate to Cohen’s need for speed, although I’m not sure he agreed about the “within legal parameters” part. A few years ago, Hernandez admitted he can make the estimated 93-mile drive from Citi Field to his Sag Harbor home in just 70 minutes and claimed Long Island police don’t mind watching him speed by.
Cohen, Hernandez and Ron Darling are widely considered one of the best broadcasts in baseball. I have no idea where their driving acumen should rank, but it sounds like they think pretty highly of their own ability to operate a vehicle.
[SNY]
