5 greatest calls of Gary Cohen's Mets broadcasting career

For many of us New York Mets fans in the Generation Z and Millennials age groups, Gary Cohen was probably the voice of our Mets childhood fandom on SportsNet New York. He is to our generation what Vin Scully was to baby boomer Dodgers fans, and Bob Uecker to Milwaukee Brewers fans.

Today, Cohen, alongside fellow broadcaster Howie Rose, who I honored on this site yesterday, Al Leiter, Howard Johnson, and Jay Horwitz will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame today in a pregame ceremony prior to their game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

I considered about 15 to 20 different Gary Cohen calls for this tribute, but since the assignment calls for the five greatest Gary Cohen Mets calls ever, I must limit it to five.

Greatest Gary Cohen Mets calls ever No. 5. Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso's back-to-back home runs on August 5, 2019.

The Mets was in the midst of a crazy surge back into the Wild Card race after disappointing the previous three months, and they were the hottest team in baseball. And the Mets had the chance to complete a crazy comeback win, and Gary Cohen stepped up alongside the team for this one.

Great broadcasters tend to make great cross-references to other parts of culture, and Gary Cohen made a brilliant ode to Bruce Springsteen's classic hit "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" following back-to-back home runs from Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso in the seventh inning, by saying "Scooter and the Big Man bust the city in half."

"Scooter" was Conforto's nickname while "the Big Man" was the reference for Alonso as he led the majors with 53 home runs as a rookie that season. Conforto added a career-high 33 home runs of his own that same year. That was a brilliant description by Gary, who has used these references to entertainment a lot behind the microphone.