Ranking the top 3 Mets broadcasting teams

I was always captured by the New York Mets broadcasts as a kid, listening to games on the radio in my bedroom at night, and sneaking a listen in the classroom during day games, with an earpiece hidden underneath my long hair.

I learned a lot about the game of baseball from those broadcasts, and it served as a mentorship for me to be a baseball play-by-play guy for when I would do some University of Miami baseball games, and spring training games for the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos.

What makes the Mets announcers so much better than their contemporaries is that, although you know they are happier when the Mets win, they are not full blown “homers.” They don’t refer to the team as “we” never referring to the Mets in the first person plural…but always in the third person. And while they may not be outright critical, the Mets announcers have never been the kind that have held back from stating the obvious truth that any fan would see for themselves.

Although the Mets have had their ups and downs in the standings, for the most part, they have actually had some of the best broadcasting teams in the business. Oh, there have been a few duds, mostly caused by a single person in the booth who ruined it for everyone else. But, overall, while the brand down on the field has often been brutal, the brand up in the booth has been stealth.

Before presenting what I believe to be the Top 3 broadcast teams in Mets history, let’s get something out of the way. This is about the broadcast teams, not specifically individuals. And that matters because of two guys for whom I have great respect – Tim McCarver and Howie Rose.

Tim McCarver was the quintessential color commentator and actually revolutionized that role in the booth. He was with the Mets TV team from 1983 to 1998. Unfortunately, although he was in the booth with Ralph Kiner for those years, the Mets also had a revolving door of play-by-play guys such as Steve Zabriskie, Bob Carpenter, Mike Crispino, and Fran Healy. Those guys were awful. And Tim had the unfortunate fate to be teamed with each of them in the booth. In fact, you could say that Tim’s banter helped reduce the pain of enduring those guys.

Howie Rose is, himself, an icon. Although he did some TV since 1995, he, like Bob Murphy before him, became regulated to radio when Murphy retired after the 2003 season And like Murphy, Rose has been the voice that drew the pictures for us. He is not only a long-time Mets broadcaster, but also a long-time Mets fan. You can tell that he lives and dies with the Mets. But, like McCarver, he was paired with some who were just not as good in the booth – Tom McCarthy, Wayne Hagan, Wayne Randazzo, Josh Lewin, and now Keith Raad. Gary Cohen spent a couple of seasons with Rose prior to joining the TV team, but it was not long enough to develop that bond that makes for a great listen.

No. 3 best is the NY Mets radio team of Gary Thorne and Bob Murphy from 1985 through 1988.

Bob Murphy was part of the Mets from 1962 until he retired after 2003. He did both radio and TV until 1982 when began doing strictly radio. Murphy was superb at “painting the picture,” in fact, I felt that he was so good at it that you didn’t need a TV screen to see what was going on. He had a great voice and was always upbeat even during the lean years of Mets baseball.

Gary Thorne came on to join Murphy and was just as good at describing the action for the listener. As good as Murphy had been, you wouldn’t miss a beat with Thorne at the mike. He, too, had a great voice and was not only upbeat, but was precise and told it like it was, never holding anything back. He didn’t gloss over anything.

Murphy and Thorne were, to me, what radio play-by-play is all about. If anyone wanted to learn to do baseball play-by-play, these two conducted a clinic every game. No fluff, no ridiculous stories that sounded like a junior high schooler presenting a book report in front of the class (think Susan Waldman of the Yankees)…they were my eyes. And I loved listening to them so much, that I would often turn down the sound on the television and turn up the radio instead.

No. 2 was them NY Mets threesome of Lindsey Nelson, Ralph Kiner, and Bob Murphy, together from 1962 through 1978.

This team was there from the beginning back in 1962 and had to endure the days of The Old Professor Casey Stengel and Marvelous Marv Throneberry and were able to be a huge part of the miracle season of 1969. They were together for 17 seasons and the three would actually rotate and do both radio and TV.

Lindsey Nelson was usually the lead and would welcome the audience to the broadcast…”Hello everyone. I’m Lindsey Nelson along with Ralph Kiner and Bob Murphy…”

Who could ever forget this call of his? “At 9:07 on September 24th, the New York Mets clinched the Eastern Division of the National League. Look at that scene…Gentry’s cap is gone…it’s a scene of wild jubilation.”

Nelson had a friendly southern semi-drawl and was famous for wearing wacky colorful sport jackets. Wacky even for the 70’s. Nelson did a lot of college football, especially Notre Dame games, and would leave the Mets after the 1978 season to broadcast for the San Francisco Giants.

Although Ralph Kiner would always be listed as a play-by-play guy, he was NOT good at calling a game. In fact, if he was doing the radio side, you would most likely be lost. He was a great storyteller and, paired with McCarver, would make for a great baseball talk show. But the key to a great broadcast team is a play-by-play person who is accurate and reliable. During this period, teamed with Nelson and Murphy, Kiner was perfectly situated as the color analyst before there really were guys considered “color analysts.”

The great home run hitter’s big hit with the Mets was Kiner’s Korner. His post-game show was a GREAT watch but, unfortunately the show was only after home games. And, of course, Kiner was also king of the malapropos and, more often than not, one would be dropped into a broadcast.

One Father’s Day, he said, “And to all of you fathers out there…happy birthday.” He was very loved and continued to broadcast for 53 seasons, retiring from the booth after 2013 season.

Bob Murphy, as stated previously, was a true professional who painted the picture for everyone. He always seemed more comfortable on the radio side. And it always seemed like Nelson was more comfortable on the TV side. Murphy was great at painting the picture, while Nelson was superb at letting the picture itself paint the story.

Nelson, Kiner, and Murphy truly complimented each other’s skills and talents. They each brought something different to the broadcast, which is probably what make it work so well.