SI

Ron Darling Feels for Michael Kay Over Tantrum Against SNY Booth's Claim

The SNY broadcaster admitted Michael Kay's rant had merit.

Josh Wilson

Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez react during the 2023 BBWAA Awards Dinner at New York Hilton Midtown
Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez react during the 2023 BBWAA Awards Dinner at New York Hilton Midtown / Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
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Weeks ago, New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay uncorked a legendary rant on his talk radio show after it broadcast an advertisement for SNY—the regional sports network that broadcasts most New York Mets games—which called the SNY announcing team the, "best booth in baseball."

Kay was adamant that his booth, which features himself, Paul O'Neill and David Cone, is better than SNY's, which features Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez in addition to Darling.

Darling admitted Kay's rant wasn't that far out of line.

"I honestly 100% felt Michael's pain. Why he would, on his show, have to read something that hadn't gone by someone who produces his show that said, 'You know it might be a bad idea for Michael to read that the rival booth is the best booth in the game... I mean, just change it to, 'Catch Gary, Keith, and Ron on SNY.'"

"[I] didn't think it was fair either. I mean, how that got through all his producers, I don't know how."

After Kay's rant in late June, SNY responded with a picture of its trio and simply rebooted the rallying cry: "Best booth in baseball."

During a rain delay of a Subway Series game between the two teams on the night after the rant, Kay Tweeted, "Wow, this is the best rain in baseball." As the game restarted, the SNY booth got yet another jab in at Kay:

Darling essentially co-signs Kay's whole argument in his latest appearance. During his rant, Kay said multiple times that his employer should have taken SNY's money for advertising, they just shouldn't have used the quip that put the SNY booth over the YES booth.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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