FLUSHING, N.Y. (AP) — Longtime New York Mets broadcaster Howie Rose announced Thursday he is planning to retire at the end of the season after spending four decades with the organization.
The 72-year-old Rose began his Mets broadcasting career in 1987 and has served as the team’s lead play-by-play radio voice since 2006.
“Having grown up in Shea Stadium’s upper deck in the 1960s and early 1970s, my long career as a Mets broadcaster has been the epitome
of ‘Living the Dream,’” Rose said in a statement released by the team. “I have been honored and blessed to follow the lineage of Lindsey Nelson, Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner and I look forward to savoring and sharing every moment of the 2026 season with the greatest fans in baseball.”
In a video the Mets released on their social media channels, Rose said he plans to work all the Mets’ home games as well as their three road matchups with the New York Yankees this year. He will work all home and away games during the postseason.
Rose began his Mets broadcasting career in 1987 as a pregame and postgame host who occasionally handled play by play. He transitioned to television in 1996 as the Mets’ lead announcer and stayed in that role through 2003. Rose returned to the radio booth in 2004, initially working with Gary Cohen and then taking over as the Mets’ lead radio voice.
He was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2023.
“For nearly four decades, Howie Rose’s voice has been synonymous with New York Mets baseball,” Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen said in a statement. “His passion for the Mets has carried across the airwaves and into the homes and hearts of fans everywhere, bringing the franchise’s most memorable moments to life. Generations of Mets fans have grown up listening to Howie call the game with authenticity, energy, and a deep appreciation for what this team means to our community.
"We are grateful for the relationship we’ve built with Howie and for the dedication he has shown to the organization and our fans since 1987. We congratulate Howie on an extraordinary career and wish him the very best as he begins this next chapter with his wife, Barbara, and their daughters, Alyssa and Chelsea.”
Rose also served as the play-by-play broadcaster for New York Rangers games on WFAN from 1989-95 and as the play-by-play announcer for the New York Islanders on Fox Sports New York from 1995-2016.
The Mets said Rose will continue to serve as the master of ceremonies for Mets on-field special events at Citi Field including Opening Day, Mets Hall of Fame induction day, and number retirements.
“I’m not planning on making a clean break,” Rose said in the video the Mets put on their social media channels. “Hopefully I’ll be involved now and then in some still-to-be-determined capacity. Because for me, letting go of the Mets isn’t hard — it’s impossible.”
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