NY Mets radio broadcast found a way to give games a different feel this week sans Howie Rose

Howie Rose is retiring after the 2026 season which leaves a huge void on the radio side of New York Mets broadcasts. Partnered up with several people over the years, Keith Raad has been his cohort for a few seasons now.

This week in Cleveland, Rose’s road replacement Pat McCarthy didn’t attend and to fill in, the Mets called upon Newsday’s Laura Albanese. A beat writer in the booth gave the games a different feel. Familiar with the Mets booth during their ongoing segment each game where Albanese and other Newsday reporters have checked in as a third mic, the transition wasn’t as uncomfortable as it could have been.

Albanese did a good job aside from briefly confusing Cleveland with Baltimore with an Edgar Allan Poe reference. But like Keith Hernandez and his comments of calling the players the Mets traded “garbage” she quickly apologized. Her mistake was far less offensive.

No official announcement has been made about what the Mets radio broadcasts will look like next year with Rose gone. Albanese probably won’t quit writing, but the difference between her with Raad and McCarthy with Raad was more enjoyable and provided the radio broadcast with a different vibe.

The Mets radio broadcast stumbled onto a unique way to provide a different game experience

Raad and McCarthy do their jobs well. Together, they’re indistinguishable at times. Gerrit Cole and Pat Mahomes are tremendous athletes but imagine trying to listen to a podcast with them. You’d never have an idea of who is speaking. 

Raad, 33, and McCarthy, 30, are way too similar. The dynamic between Raad and Rose works well because it’s the new school paired with the franchise legend. Rose worked well with Wayne Randazzo prior. Josh Lewin, much closer to Rose’s age, was always the “second mic” but an experienced voice and peer in terms of age with Rose. It worked.

Combined, Raad and McCarthy don’t even equal the life experience of Rose or those on the Mets television broadcasts. It’s not ageist as much as it is a poor blending of thoughts and style.

Daniel Murphy on television works because he comes from a completely different era than Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. His insight on the radio side of things would be welcomed on a regular basis as he’s clearly next in line to take over on the television side of things whenever we get a change there.

The Raad and McCarthy duo during Mets road games tends to lack diversity. Albanese gave a different sort of perspective coming from the beat. While the preferred choice is always an ex-player, she had a different unique thought process and had fun with the opportunity. Purely a coincidence, the Mets happened to go 3-0 with this set up with a sweep over the Guardians. A more superstitious shot caller at the radio station might think to ask her back before the year is through for more than a half-inning at a time.

Raad and Albanese had good chemistry and from the parts I heard, they both understood their place. I'd be curious to see how Albanese could step up into a larger speaking role as there were times where she stayed in "third mic" mode when she could have contributed a little more. Regardless, the change from Raad and McCarthy was a good one as they don't be different enough.

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