Howie Rose is in the homestretch in the Mets' radio broadcast booth
Mets broadcaster Howie Rose speaks during his Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Citi Field on June 3, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Unless the Mets somehow make the playoffs, Howie Rose has 35 games left before he retires as the radio voice of the club.
Or, as Rose himself might say about his career, it will be time to "put it in the books!"
That's Rose's signature call for a Mets victory. Sadly, he has not been able to utter it too often in 2026.
But even if the Mets don't go out on top at the end of this season, Rose will end his six-decade run as a broadcaster on Sept. 20 with nothing but good wishes and fond memories.
Rose said he was surprised by the outpouring of emotion from fans and colleagues after he announced his retirement before the season. Well-wishers have popped in the booth or stopped him around Citi Field on a daily basis, and while that slowed down as the first half went on, it should pick up again as Rose’s final game at the Mets’ home finale gets closer.
“I think I underestimated on a certain level what the reaction would be,” Rose told Newsday over the weekend in a telephone interview. “So just as I was starting to settle in, and I could put off thinking about the end until, well, the end, it's just kind of lately come into a bit sharper focus that I'm down to 35 scheduled games. I know that I'm down to in all likelihood — unless I pinch hit somewhere along the line — the last 35 games of my career, and that shrinking number is becoming more daunting by the day.”
Rose, 72, will call the Mets’ final 32 home games plus the three against the Yankees in the Bronx in September.
He will also be the master of ceremonies for the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1986 Mets World Series winning team on Aug. 1 and the Carlos Beltran number retirement on Sept. 19. That’s a role Rose hopes to keep even after his retirement from the booth.
“Unless something changes right now, the plan is for me to continue to do those,” Rose said. “I would be up for Opening Day and a Mets Hall of Fame induction day and if they have any kind of Old-Timers’ or sort of alumni type event, I would emcee that. Whether anything that I do goes beyond that, it's something we could talk about a little bit later on. We haven't gotten there yet, but at least they've been very nice about it — nice is not the right word — I mean, they've been wonderful about inviting me and allowing me to continue to kind of keep the connection and continue emceeing these special events because as I said way back in spring training when I announced this, letting go of the Mets isn't just hard. It's impossible.”
It’s also impossible to imagine the Mets not holding a Howie Rose Day in the coming months? Perhaps on Sept. 20?
“It's possible,” he said. “I don't know for sure yet. I know that the idea was floated earlier this year, but that's not for me to answer. I'm not on the organizing committee for that. Who wouldn't want to be given a nice sendoff?
“Whenever they do it, whether it's that day or some other day, this whole season has been such a nice sendoff. I go back to just sort of underestimating what the reaction would be. I'm not trying to be modest, and I'm probably naive to a point because I don't think any of us, other than the most egotistical who do what we do for a living, can really understand whatever the impact is that we have, minimal or otherwise. I know that I've been around a long time and I guess that counts for something. But some of what people have said has been so poignant and pointed and just truly so complimentary it just warms me inside beyond anything that I could have expected.”
At the time of Rose’s retirement announcement, 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.”
Has the Mets’ lousy play ruined some of the experience for Rose? Remember, he was on record as saying he hoped his final call would be the last out of the Mets winning the 2026 World Series, which seemed like a possibility before the wheels fell off in Flushing early this season.
“It's complicated because, again, I'm working against the backdrop of a looming conclusion to my career,” he said. “So in a sense, I suppose I embrace every game more than I would have ordinarily in a season like this, but I don't take it personally. I mean, there are so many people who have said, ‘You deserve so much better.’ Bull. I don't.
“They don't owe me anything. I owe them everything. I'm talking about the Mets and the fans and the people in the media who have been so nice throughout all this. I mean, nobody owes me anything. I'm just trying to get out before I overstay my welcome. So for the team to have struggled this year, yeah, it's as disappointing to me as it is to the people who put the team together, who root for them, who play for them. It's disappointing for everybody, but it's a different sort of texture of disappointment for me this year because it's negated in a sense by the reality that personally, for me, this is it, and every game is sort of gold in a way that it wouldn't be ordinarily, if this were just another rough season when retirement was not even on my radar.”
Is there a chance Rose might change his mind and stay on for another season?
There’s no chance.
“No,” Rose said, before repeating the word four times and citing all the reasons he decided to retire in the first place.
“The thought of, ‘OK, can I do this for another year?’” Rose said. “When I think of all that, I go, ‘Goodness, no. It's time.’”
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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