Legendary Mets Announcer Announces Major Career Change
Howie Rose, the longtime radio voice of the New York Mets, will retire after this season, the team and Rose announced Thursday. He is 72 and ends a broadcasting career that spanned New York baseball and hockey.
Retirement schedule and game duties
Rose will handle 84 regular-season games this year. That total is down from 101 games in 2024.
He will call all 81 home games at Citi Field. He will also broadcast three Subway Series games at Yankee Stadium in September.
Rose will skip other road trips this season. He plans to call any Mets postseason game, home and away, if the team reaches the playoffs.
Health and workload
Rose disclosed in February 2023 that doctors diagnosed him with bladder cancer two years earlier. He continued working while reducing his schedule over recent seasons.
He handled 125 games in 2023 and left parts of the 2021 season for cancer-related surgery. He told Filmogaz.com that each offseason he weighs his health, the preparation required, and time away from his wife.
Career milestones and signature moments
Rose began with the Mets organization in 1987 on pregame and postgame shows. He moved into the radio booth in 2004 and spent more than three decades with the club.
He called games for the Rangers and Islanders earlier in his career. His 1994 radio call of Stéphane Matteau’s Game 7 goal remains a widely remembered moment.
Rose earned induction into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2023. As a legendary Mets announcer, his departure marks a major career change for New York sports listeners.
Broadcast team and legacy
Keith Raad will share the booth with Rose for a fourth straight season. Pat McCarthy will substitute when Rose is off.
Rose has spoken proudly about mentoring younger broadcasters. He will retire alongside franchise greats such as Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson, Ralph Kiner, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling.
- Age: 72
- Regular-season games this year: 84
- Home games at Citi Field: 81
- Subway Series at Yankee Stadium: 3
- Games called in 2023: 125
- Mets Hall of Fame induction: 2023
