New York Mets radio play-by-play announcer Howie Rose, who served as an original radio host at WFAN when the sports radio station launched in 1987, will make his return to the station airwaves on Monday. Rose will be in the studio with Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber for their afternoon drive program on Monday from 5 to 6 p.m. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., he will host solo for the ensuing hour-and-a-half, welcoming special guests such as broadcaster Marv Albert and former Mets all-star third baseman David Wright.
Rose has called Mets games since 1995, originally starting his time with the organization in the television booth. When Bob Murphy retired from broadcasting games on the radio in 2003, Rose started to work with Gary Cohen on the broadcasts on WFAN. Cohen moved to television upon the launch of the SportsNet New York regional sports network in 2006, while Rose remained on the radio broadcasts. Over the years, he has worked with a variety of partners, including Tom McCarthy, Wayne Hagin, Josh Lewin, Wayne Randazzo and Keith Raad. The Mets are currently broadcast on Audacy-owned WCBS Newsradio 880, which has been the flagship station for the team starting with the 2019 season.
Over the last several years, Rose has cut back on his workload with the Mets, calling approximately 101 games this season. He began to limit his travel during the 2022 season after being diagnosed and treated for bladder cancer. Rose entered the season planning to call all home games, the two Subway Series road games at Yankee Stadium, select National League East road games and a road trip in St. Petersburg, Fla. and St. Louis, Mo. If the team makes the postseason, Rose would call all games, according to Neil Best of Newsday.
Outside of his work with the Mets, Rose formerly called hockey games for the New York Islanders on MSG Networks. Before that time, he was a radio play-by-play announcer for the New York Rangers and famously called the Game 7 clinching goal by Stéphane Matteau in double overtime to send the team to the 1994 Stanley Cup Final.
