Mets: Best SNY booth antics from Gary, Keith, Ron, and Steve in 2020

Although there were only 60 games, the brilliant New York Mets broadcast booth gave us some memorable moments in 2020.

Regardless of the product on the field, the New York Mets‘ announcing crew always has fun. Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling have been a trio in the SNY TV booth since 2006, and they make even the most unwatchable Mets games worth watching. So much so, Mets fans on Twitter sometimes report that they turn blowout games ON, rather than off, just to see what “GKR” will do.

Steve Gelbs joined the crew full-time in 2015, and the four of them have provided a lot of memorable moments and in-game laughs over the years. In 2020, with no fans at the ballpark and GKR announcing from Citi Field every day with Steve in the SNY studio, the team got even more creative with how to make the broadcasts as entertaining as possible.

By all accounts, their efforts were a resounding success. The Mets finished the 2020 season with an uninspiring record of 26-34, but their announcers batted 1.000, as usual. Let’s take a look back at some of the most fun, absurd, and memorable moments from the SNY booth in 2020, most of which have nothing to do with the in-game action.

The clothesline saga

It all started in mid-August, in a game against the Washington Nationals. Hernandez was lamenting, as he had been all season, that he missed having Cohen in the same booth as him and Darling. Hernandez is known for discussing his sweet tooth and penchant for pints of ice cream at length. In this game, the topic turned to cookies, and how to combine GKR’s love for cookies and desire to interact during the games.

Enter, the between-booths clothesline heard ’round the world!

https://twitter.com/snytv/status/1293714017354211329?lang=en

The legend of the clothesline lived on past August into September. By September 18, GKR had finally mastered the art of clipping Insomnia Cookies to the clothesline and successfully wheeling them between the booths. Cohen was particularly pleased with himself for accomplishing what Hernandez had failed to do – transfer the cookies via clothesline without them falling into the abyss.

In this game, the Mets were losing 12-0 to the Atlanta Braves. It was an ugly one on the field.  And yet, I was laughing out loud at this ridiculous clothesline saga thanks to the Mets’ fun-loving announcers. This bit was a perfect example of the SNY booth at its best: providing a reason for fans to keep the game on when the Mets are down big.

Steve breaks out the tuxedo

As Mets fans know, GKR love to rag on Steve Gelbs. At one point this season, they were casually making fun of him for a shirt he was wearing during a broadcast. Gelbs, not one to be silenced, decided to have some fun and dressed up far above his pay grade for the next game. Instead of simply wearing a suit or a collared shirt with a tie, he broke out the fanciest possible ensemble: a tuxedo.

With the classical music playing ever louder, and GKR cackling at the sight of Gelbs in a tuxedo instead of the usual studio attire, I knew instantly while watching this live that it would become a beloved broadcast moment. GKR are perfectly capable of quality comedy all on their own, but Gelbs added his own tongue-in-cheek humor to the broadcast dynamic with this hilariously entertaining cutaway.

Keith learns about “PB&J”

On August 1, 2020, Keith Hernandez learned what the rest of us have known for our entire lives: “PB&J” stands for “peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” Cohen and Darling were incredulous at this revelation, which dominated their in-game chatter during what proved to be a forgettable Michael Wacha start against the Braves.

Just when Mets fans thought Hernandez might have updated his pop culture knowledge to include the 21st (or 20th) century, he proved us wrong. Hernandez is known for being “old school” about baseball, but I had no idea he was so old school about common lunch foods.

His incredible depth of baseball knowledge, and occasional lack of common knowledge, continues to delight the Flushing faithful each night on the Mets broadcast.

Gare refers to Shane Bieber as “Justin Bieber”

Shane Bieber had quite the year pitching for the Cleveland Indians, leading all of MLB in wins, ERA, and strikeouts and storming his way to what could be a unanimous victory in the AL Cy Young race. One thing he did not do, however, was become a multi-platinum recording artist.

In a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on September 7, Cohen delivered a game break that, at first, was quite innocuous. He was simply recounting Bieber’s start from that day, which lowered his ERA to 1.25.

Only, whose ERA was it, exactly?

Cohen was completely unaware that he had referred to Shane Bieber as “Justin Bieber” until a couple of minutes later when he admitted his mistake and Hernandez dissolved into giggles. The mistake blew up on Mets twitter and was even featured on that night’s SportsCenter.

Cohen, of course, has a great sense of humor and laughed it off along with the rest of us laughing on our couches at home. Even a segment as seemingly harmless as an out-of-town game break turned into a thoroughly entertaining moment of the Mets broadcast.

As Cohen, Hernandez, Darling, and Gelbs often reiterate, Mets fans just never know what their booth will say or do next. There is never a dull moment of any Mets game, no matter how lopsided the score. Right after the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention on Saturday, September 26, my first thought was, “Well, I may as well tune into game 2 of the doubleheader to see what the booth does.”

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During the long offseason, Mets fans will miss seeing Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, and the like taking the field every day. We’ll miss hearing Gary, Keith, Ron, and Steve over the SNY airwaves just as much. Once again in 2020, they proved that they are the best booth in major league baseball.