Inside The Mets

Mets' Beloved Announcer Gary Cohen Nominated for Prestigious Award

The voice of the Mets could wind up with yet another accolade to his name.

Joe Najarian

Mar 26, 2022; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; The New York Mets logo stands in center field before the game against the Washington Nationals at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
Mar 26, 2022; Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA; The New York Mets logo stands in center field before the game against the Washington Nationals at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images / Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
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The iconic play-by-play announcer of the New York Mets is up for one of the most prestigious sportscasting awards.

On Tuesday, SNY's Gary Cohen was selected by the National Baseball Hall of Fame as one of the 10 nominees for the Ford C. Frick Award, which is given annually for "excellence in baseball broadcasting". Other nominees who are still active alongside Cohen include Tom Hamilton of the Cleveland Guardians, Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper of the San Francisco Giants, Dave Sims of the Seattle Mariners, and the soon-to-be-retired John Sterling of the New York Yankees.

Cohen, 66, has been with the Mets' broadcast team since 1989 and served as their radio play-by-play voice up until 2005; in 2006, he would become the play-by-play announcer for the newly-created SportsNet New York (SNY), a role he has served ever since. His partners on the air include former Mets Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez; this trio has consistently been considered among the best broadcast teams in the sport, and notably were ranked as the single-best broadcast booth this year by Awful Announcing.

An inductee of the New York Mets Hall of Fame, Cohen is renowned for his intricate knowledge of the game, objective game-calling, and great sense of humor (especially with Ron and Keith alongside him). His mannerisms have always been highly enthusiastic (especially when a Met hits a home run, after which he exclaims "It's outta here!"), but at the same time, Cohen is adept at using broadcast images and the crowd noise to his advantage, further enhancing his endearing calls. In fact, arguably one of Cohen's best calls came on Monday, when the Mets clinched a postseason spot:

Voters for the Ford C. Frick Award will consist of 13 past winners and three baseball historians; the past winners consist of Marty Brennaman, Ken Harrelson, Pat Hughes, Bob Uecker, Dave Van Horne, Jon Miller, Tony Kubek, Eric Nadel, Jaime Jarrín, Denny Matthews, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, and Joe Castiglione. The 2024 recipient was Castiglione, who served as the radio voice of the Boston Red Sox for 42 seasons.

Cohen was nominated for the award last year, and although he didn't win, his sterling reputation across the league gives him great chances to secure the honor. Even if Cohen isn't the 2025 recipient, he likely will be consistently in consideration for the award for years to come.

The recipient will be announced on December 11 at MLB's Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas, and the award will be given out in July 2025.

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Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian is a Rutgers University graduate from the Class of 2022. After an eight-month stint with Jersey Sporting News (JSN), covering Rutgers Football, Rutgers Basketball, and Rutgers Baseball, Najarian became a contributing writer on Inside the Pinstripes and Inside the Mets. He additionally writes on Giants Country, FanNation’s site for the New York Giants. Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeNajarian

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