Q&A with Mets radio voice Wayne Randazzo

Q&A with Mets radio voice Wayne Randazzo

👨‍🦱 By Blake Zeff

For all their suffering over the years, Mets fans are widely known to have tremendous fortune when it comes to their broadcasting teams, both on TV and radio. In the radio booth, 36-year old Wayne Randazzo joined the legendary Howie Rose for the 2019 season, and has quickly settled in as another essential, popular member of the team, also filling in occasionally on TV for Gary Cohen. 

We spoke with Wayne about what it’s like to call an iconic baseball moment, how he made himself a Mets expert after growing up a Cubs fan, and what Howie’s really like behind the scenes. The following transcript is edited for brevity and clarity.      

I was surprised to learn you grew up a Cubs fan. What was it like having to learn a whole new franchise and culture? Did you do a ton of research? 

It's a good question. I grew up in Chicago and was a Cubs fan, and a big one, too. I watched every game and went to as many as I could, the Cubs conventions and all that stuff. So I was a very big Cubs fan but I was just a huge baseball fan. The Cubs were on WGN nationwide, but the Mets were still on their superstation on WOR channel 9 so I saw a lot of Mets games with Ralph Kiner and Tim McCarver. 

I was well aware of the Mets and the good players they had at that time -- Hojo, Kevin McReynolds, Ron Darling, Doc, Sid Fernandez and all those guys... David Cone. 

Also, sitting next to Howie and being around Gary, those are two Mets historians that have a wealth of knowledge, and have seen almost literally every game. One trick I did is that in my note file that I keep, I wrote something about every season in Mets history and put in their record, manager, new players they had acquired, and some of the team leaders. Just to kind of give myself that knowledge. 

The notebook is a great idea. I might keep one just for fun, myself. 

It's funny, I'm just the kind of person that, even though I'm there, I do it at the end of the season now, too. So for 2020, once the season ended I put in all the things that happened in 2020 just to have a log of it. So I have every single season the Mets have ever played. 

Do you still find yourself rooting for the Cubs sometimes?

You know, I'm still happy when the Cubs win. When they won the World Series, it was such a big deal. It had been so long. I thought more about my grandfather, who lived an entire life and never got to see them win the World Series. And Ron Santo, who was similar in age to my grandfather, and was all about the Cubs history and the organization -- having grown up in it, playing for them and then being a broadcaster. Harry Carey -- the Cubs never even won during his lifetime. So my thoughts went there. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the Cubs and they will always be my hometown team, the one I learned baseball watching, and going to Wrigley Field. That will never go away. 

In your short time as a radio voice of the Mets, you’ve already gotten to call an iconic moment in 2019, when Pete Alonso broke the home run rookie record. Your call is the one they always play, even when they show the video. Obviously, you knew going to “the office” that day that Pete might break the record. How did you prepare for it? Were there a couple of words in your mind that you had ready? 

I do think about these things and you do wish to get calls like that. I mean those are the great moments in team history or baseball history that you hope to be a part of -- and I'm really fortunate that it happened in one of my innings, because I share the play-by-play and Howie does a few more innings than I do, so the chances weren't great that I was going to end up with that call. It was a bunch of things kind of coming together. First off, I remember very fondly the home run race of 1998 and watching Sosa and McGwire hit seemingly historic home runs all the time, so I thought about what I liked about those home run calls and some of the historic home runs within a season that I've heard before. 

Also, Pete had recently broken the franchise record for home runs in a season, and I called that one and went over it with Howie. I don't always go over things with Howie, but I thought for that moment, I wanted to get his opinion about it, and he gave me a couple things to think about for next time a home run or something like that happened. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait very long for that to occur. A few weeks later, Pete broke the rookie home run record and I had a better idea of what I wanted to do with it. 

The words I wanted to say right away were the number 53 and “rookie home run king.” I wanted to make sure I said those two things right off the bat, and I was able to as soon as that ball went out. I believe I said after it was gone, “Number 53” and something like, “Pete Alonso stands alone as baseball's rookie home run king.” 

I was also focused, on Howie's suggestion, on the field and what Pete was doing, and who he was hugging, what the reaction was when he got to home plate and all that stuff you couldn't really script, or think about. Just kind of calling what you see. 

After his legendary “Matteau!” call, Howie famously thought he had blown it and was initially embarrassed and depressed about it. When you heard yourself do this call, how did it feel?

I was satisfied with it. Because when he hit the 42nd home run I didn't think my call was great, and that's why I asked Howie what he had thought of it. So, I knew that I had hit the elements this time. You never really know what the home run is going to look like. He could have bashed it into the upper deck. This one in particular was a pretty high hit ball, wasn't necessarily far, though. Billy Hamilton went back and got close to it. It was definitely over the fence, but it was not something that was 20 rows deep, either. So you kind of have to set the moment, and maybe this ball is going to get caught, and maybe it's going to be the record-breaking homer. So you just kind of have to wait to see what happens and you react how you react. With Howie’s “Matteau” call, just the excitement of that moment and what the Rangers were working toward... you know Howie just kind of reacted, and it turns out to be one of the greatest calls in New York sports history and probably his crowning achievement as far as an individual call is concerned. 

Since you mentioned Howie, I’m curious what you knew about him before working with him. And did anything surprise you about him? 

It's funny, but not being from New York and being from a big city myself with its own historic announcers, Howie was not an intimidating figure to me. I felt like at the beginning, I was able to work alongside him and talk to him as just another person and not this iconic figure in the city. I had known that he was with the Mets a long time and I knew his hockey background. When I was in the minor leagues, I'd listen around the majors some nights just to hear some announcers that I liked, just to pick some things up, and the Mets were routinely on my list. I put Howie on, so he was certainly on my radar as someone who was one of the best in baseball already. But coming from Chicago, he wasn't this walking legend to me that I know he is to a lot of New York sports fans, so I think that eased me in a little bit. I wasn't afraid to be around him or ask him things, and his nature probably wouldn't allow for that anyway, even if I was. 

He's a self-deprecating person, doesn't take himself too seriously, and he really enjoys mentoring a younger broadcaster. I think he really remembers and admires how Marv Albert and others had mentored him and given him advice. And he loves being able to do that. He's an incredible partner, but even more so, a mentor, and someone that has really helped me along as an announcer in a way that I don't think anyone else could have. I was very fortunate to land into the seat next to him. 

As Opening Day approaches, what are you most looking forward to seeing this season from the Mets? Is there a specific player or aspect of the team that you're curious to see how it works out? 

I hope that this season they can be more consistent. I think they're going to hit a lot. I think they will pitch enough, and I hope that their defense is good enough, although I think that is still an issue for them to be competitive. I just would like to see them be in the running all year, and not put themselves in a big hole early, or not have a bad month that kicks them out. 

I'm very excited to see Francisco Lindor play every day. I think Mets fans have started to see it in spring training, but I think when the trade first happened, I don't think Mets fans really knew how great this guy is, and how incredible of a baseball player and what a game changer he is for the Mets. And I think that spring training helped that along already, but when we watch him play every day, I think Mets fans are going to fall in love with Francisco.