In the spirit of full disclosure, I grew up as an aspiring broadcaster and a New York Mets enthusiast. I suppose those two qualities went hand-in-hand given the Mets' radio crew in the '90s.
Gary Cohen was brought to WFAN as the heir apparent to Bob Murphy. For comparison, think Vin Scully coming to the Dodgers to work with Red Barber or, more recently, Tom McCarthy coming to the Phillies to work with the late Harry Kalas.
But you don't fill a giant's shoes; you merely walk where he once ran.
Alongside the man who had called Mets games since the team's inception in 1962, including two World Series titles, Cohen quickly became a respected radio voice in New York—no easy feat given the media market—due to his striking accuracy and willingness to speak his mind.
Strike out calls became mini-events: "ON the outside corner, strike three called!" "In there, a called strike three!" "Swing a miss, he struck him out!"
Ground balls to Rey Ordonez routinely ended with an emphatic, "He got him!"
And then the home run calls—a staple of any broadcaster—but Cohen is not one for gimmicks. Whereas some broadcasters will instruct the fans to "kiss it goodbye" or yell at the ball to "get up, baby, get up," Cohen simply describes the path of the outfielder and the flight of the ball, and then, all of a sudden...
"It's outta here!"
There's genius within the accuracy of those words.
But none of the preceding makes Cohen the best. Not the home runs, not the critically accurate opinions, and not the baritone voice.
It's the little things.
Cohen graduated from Columbia with a degree in Political Science, and his Ivy League education is apparent. Able to converse about topics ranging from religion to mythology to the New York Jets, Cohen's broadcasts are as interesting between pitches as they are between the lines.
He calls plays with detailed descriptions and colorful imagery, evoking a picture in the mind of his listeners.
And perhaps no better example of Cohen's mastery of the English language came after Cohen's days as a radio broadcaster had given way to his current play-by-play job with Sportsnet New York (SNY), the TV home of the New York Mets.
During the 2006 Mets playoff run, Cohen performed play-by-play for the sixth inning of each game on WFAN radio, as longtime colleague Howie Rose and then No. 2 broadcaster, Tom McCarthy, gave way. And, in game seven of the NLCS, Cohen said this:
"Perez deals. Fastball, hit in the air to left field—that's deep—back goes Chavez, back to the wall, leaping and...he made the catch! He took a home run away from Rolen! Trying to get back to first, Edmonds, he's doubled off, and the inning is over! Endy Chavez saves the day.
"He reached high over the left-field wall, right in front of the Mets—visitor's bullpen—and pulled back a two-run homer. He went to the apex of his leap and caught it in the webbing of his glove with his elbow up above the fence.
"A miraculous play, by Endy Chavez, and then Edmonds is doubled off first and Oliver Perez escapes the sixth inning. The play of the year, the play, maybe, of the franchise history, for Endy Chavez...the inning is over. No runs, no hits, and nobody left..."
Note the details. Note the excitement. Note the cadence.
As an era of great broadcasters soon departs—Harwell, Scully, and Kalas—Cohen stands as the pioneer of a new generation.
He's the voice of explanation, expression, and eloquence.
He's quick, but concise, and never speaks down to an educated baseball fan.
He's the reason why baseball is still, by nature, a radio sport.
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