Howie Rose not closing book on occasional return to Mets' radio booth
Howie Rose looks on during the 40th anniversary celebration honoring the 1986 World Champion Mets at Citi Field on Saturday, August. 1, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Howie Rose will call his final game as Mets radio play-by-play man on Sept. 20 before heading off into retirement with what no doubt will be a stadium full of well wishes.
But Mets fans might hear from Rose again after that.
It already is known that Rose will continue his role as master of ceremonies for on-field celebrations such as Mets Hall of Fame inductions and number retirement days.
At the end of a Q&A with Gary Cohen after a Citi Field screening of a new SNY documentary about Rose’s life and career, Rose hinted on Friday that Sept. 20 might not be his final game after all.
So there is hope, Mets fans, that a voice synonymous with your team on the radio might be heard again.
“It’s a people business, and I’m going to miss the people most,” Rose said. “But thankfully, they’ve been nice enough to agree to dust me off a few times a year to MC the various ceremonies that might take place on the field, and maybe pop into the booth if the kids need a break from time to time. I’m not saying I’ll never do another game after Sept. 20th, but as a full-time thing, that’ll be it.”
By kids, Rose means the announcer who will join his current partner, Keith Raad, in the Mets’ booth in 2027. If there isn’t a year-long lockout and there is a 2027 season, wouldn’t it be nice for Rose to “pop in” and do a game or a series . . . oh, heck, can’t Howie just stay for another year or two?
“Nooooooooo,” Rose said in response to Cohen asking if there’s anything that could change his mind.
“Here’s the reason why: Because I feel as though I could probably go on another two, three, four years doing it at approximately the same level, whatever that is,” said Rose, 72, who this season reduced his schedule to all 81 home games plus three at Yankee Stadium next month. “But I have to confess that the motivation is not what it was.
“I don’t like just doing half the games. I don’t believe in that. I loved, as hard as it was, being around the team every day on the road as well as at home. I think you shortchange the job a little bit if you parachute in and out, and that’s what I feel like I’ve been doing.
“I just know that if they could plop me down in the booth at 7 o’clock, and as soon as 10 comes around, get me down to Florida in two hours and bring me back the next day at 7 o’clock, maybe. But it’s all the other stuff.”
All the other stuff of his life and career is the subject of “Howie Rose: Put It In the Books,” a 54-minute documentary that will premiere on SNY on Tuesday night after the Mets’ postgame show and will be repeated multiple times.
When you watch it, bring your tissues, because along with the fascinating story of Rose’s career journey, there are personal stories that will test your tear ducts.
Rose and his family saw the documentary for the first time on Friday night before the Nationals-Mets game. Without spoiling too much, the film shows Rose’s rise from Bayside, Queens, to a radio career that started with help from Marv Albert at WHN (which became WFAN) to play-by-play for the Rangers and Islanders and finally the Mets.
As one former Mets player put it, “When you think of the New York Mets, you think of Howie.”
That former player was Pete Alonso, who was interviewed while wearing an Orioles cap. That Alonso, who always bled Mets orange and blue, is not still with the team is a crime perpetrated on fans by David Stearns. Seeing Alonso wearing another team’s colors in a film that talks constantly about how Mets fans — and by extension, Rose — are an extended family is a jarring dose of reality that not everything works out the way it should.
But that’s not to say this film is all about Rose’s Mets days. His time at WFAN is covered, including a three-decades-old dust-up/ misunderstanding with Mike Francesa that actually gets resolved during the documentary!
Rose’s famous “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!” Rangers call is covered extensively. Stephane Matteau is featured in the documentary and was present at the screening, wearing a No. 20 Howard Johnson Mets jersey.
Islanders fans don’t get short shrift, either, as Rose’s time with the franchise is well-represented.
You’ll learn how Rose came up with “Put It In the Books!” to punctuate Mets wins. You’ll learn how much Rose loves playing golf and how much his friends (Matteau especially) love teasing him about his lack of skill with a club.
After the Sept. 20 game is put in the books, Rose will head down to Florida like so many other New Yorkers to start his next chapter.
But it might not be the last chapter, and that’s great news for Mets fans.
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.
