Howie Rose to have surgery, take leave

NEW YORK -- The Mets will be without one of their legends for the stretch run.

Radio play-by-play announcer Howie Rose, an award-winning broadcaster who has covered the team for more than a quarter-century, announced Monday that he will take a leave of absence to address a medical issue that requires surgery. Rose intends to miss the rest of this season before returning to the booth next spring.

“Some of you may know that I’ve been dealing with a personal medical issue this season,” Rose tweeted. “In light of this, I will require surgery later this week, so following Wednesday’s game, I will have to put this season in the books. Looking forward to starting a new chapter next spring.”

A Queens native, Rose has been calling Mets games on the TV or radio since 1996, when he began doing so for FOX Sports New York/MSG. In 2004, Rose took over for legendary Mets voice Bob Murphy calling games full-time for WFAN radio. He became the team’s lead radio voice two years later, and he has been in that role ever since. (The broadcasts moved to WCBS in 2019.)

For much of his Mets career, Rose also called hockey in the winter before leaving his job as voice of the Islanders following the 2015-16 season. This season, Rose has taken scattered games off to address his health. He will now do so on a more permanent basis while he recovers from surgery, missing the final 29 games of the season.

In Rose’s absence, his play-by-play partner Wayne Randazzo will take over as lead play-by-play voice. A person with knowledge of the situation said that WCBS will pair Randazzo with multiple analysts during the games that Rose misses, including former Mets manager Terry Collins.