As Howie Rose’s call of Pete Alonso’s season-saving home run began playing over the public address system on the New York Mets’ joyous charter flight out of Milwaukee, the veteran broadcaster briefly cupped his hands to his ears.
From his seat on a plane full of Mets players and staffers, Rose, 70, was embarrassed. No broadcaster, he’d later say, wants to be present as people listen to their words. It’s weird. Uncomfortable. That’s true no matter how good the call was, and Rose’s call was epic.
“I wanted to crawl under the seat when that thing was playing,” Rose said.
They played @HowieRose’s call on the plane and it was EPIC! #LGM pic.twitter.com/JBU3udddBl
— x – New York Mets (@Mets) October 4, 2024
Instead, Rose got up. You see, had Rose continued to cover his ears with his hands, he may have succeeded in blocking out his words. But he had no chance against the accompanying raucous ovation from the players in the back of the plane. They hooted and hollered, clapped so loudly for Rose and gave him a standing ovation.
“I wanted to acknowledge it,” Rose said. “I really wanted to embrace Pete because he’s a guy I’ve known since he came up.”
After Rose stood from his seat and looked toward the back of the plane, he saluted the players. He pointed in Alonso’s direction. Then Rose did something he had never done before. He wandered to the back rows, where the players reside.
Generally, on a baseball team’s plane, players and the traveling party (which includes the radio and television broadcasters) are cordial, but there’s an inherent understanding of space. As Rose put it, the parts of the plane might as well be different zip codes. Not late Thursday night.
“Under normal circumstances, it would never ever, ever happen,” SNY’s Mets field reporter Steve Gelbs said. “But in this instance, it would’ve actually been weird if it didn’t happen.”
With each row Rose passed, he received a pat on the back or a high five. When he reached Alonso, Rose leaned in and told him, simply, “I’m really, really happy for you.”
“With one sentence,” Rose said, “I wanted him to know that I’m in his corner.”
That’s Rose. He doesn’t overdo it. He doesn’t have to. He understands moments. And he nails them with a tasteful blend of the right words, observations and emotions.
“It was Pete’s and the team’s night, but Howie enhanced it,” Gelbs said. “There was so much genuine love and appreciation for Howie’s ability to provide the perfect soundtrack to an all-time moment for the franchise.”
With the Mets oozing Team of Destiny vibes, Rose delivered Thursday night, presenting a how-to in the art of calling a big play.
Rose got it all. And that’s saying something. A few days earlier, on another astounding call, Rose captured the aura of Franciso Lindor’s home run that helped the Mets clinch a playoff spot. As fans replayed it over and over in awe, Rose was somewhat irked he neglected to mention Michael Harris II climbing the wall. Yes, that’s the kind of detail, kind of level Rose strides for when making these calls. He’s a perfectionist.
The Alonso call may have been perfect. Before the home run, Rose had introduced the idea of the Mets’ season as a “fairy tale.” He’d remember to use that word again. On the call, he mentioned Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick jumping at the wall. The emotion came out raw. He accurately called it Alonso’s most memorable home run. He captured Alonso’s emotion running the bases. He relayed the score within the pandemonium. He acknowledged the rarity of everyone “pouring out” of the Mets’ dugout. He shared the scene at home plate. Then Rose capped it off, saying, “Pete Alonso keeps this fairy-tale season going with the fairy-tale swing of his career — 3-2 New York!”
This might be the most perfect radio call I’ve ever heard, via the great Howie Rose. pic.twitter.com/AepTdRqm2c
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 4, 2024
Alonso helped send the Mets to the National League Division Series, which starts against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday. The moment instantly joined the list of all-timers for the franchise. Behind so many of them has been Rose.
“It’s very much a case of being a reporter,” Rose said. “I’m charged with the responsibility of doing it succinctly, accurately, and hopefully, in the best-case scenario, somewhat eloquently. And you know, when I listened back, I think as emotional as I was, I think I checked all the boxes I wanted to check.”
A predictable understatement, to be sure. Rose crushed it. Within hours, clips of the call had ricocheted throughout social media, racking up thousands of shares.
More than any other sport, baseball gives team broadcasters the most chances to connect with audiences whether at home, in an office cubicle or the car.
The connection starts in the spring and lasts through the entire summer. Then, come October, that link is abruptly severed. For the playoffs, national broadcasts displace the ones produced locally, and the voices that guide fans through most of the season go silent. That’s the case on television.
But not so on the radio. This is why Rose, a familiar voice to New Yorkers, was behind the mic for one of the most memorable moments in franchise history.
“When it’s done right,” Rose said, “it’s art.”
Before Rose’s call replayed over the plane’s public address system, so many people, including Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza, approached him, not just to congratulate him on the call, but to thank him as well.
Rose has endured as one of radio’s most polished practitioners. He has called Mets play-by-play on radio or television since 1995. In 2022, Rose began to cut back his schedule, following health issues. Rose, a native New Yorker who grew up a Mets fan and basically doubles as a walking encyclopedia of the franchise, views this year’s run as special. The Mets keep rising to the occasion. Rose keeps matching them. Fans of the club would have it no other way.
“They know that I’m invested, and that makes us kindred spirits,” Rose said. “And what’s more important than that, though, is that I think, over time, and, obviously I’ve been doing this for a long time, I’ve built the kind of trust that enables me to say something, whether it’s critical or opinionated in any way, and know that the listener understands where I’m coming from. I’m not trying to short-sell them or sell them a bill of goods. I’m just saying it as I see it, and they trust me. And the added advantage I have is that I’m emotionally invested in this team because I was a fan of theirs from day one. And a lot of those fans will say they’ve been fans since their earliest baseball memories. So again, I like to use the phrase we are kindred spirits.”
(Photo of Pete Alonso after his Game 3 home run: Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)