Howard Johnson, Al Leiter, Gary Cohen, and Howie Rose will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame as the 2023 class of inductees, the team announced on Wednesday. Additionally, Jay Horowitz, the team’s longtime media relations guru, will receive the team’s Hall of Fame Achievement Award. Johnson, Leiter, Cohen and Rose will officially be […]
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Howard Johnson, Al Leiter, Gary Cohen, and Howie Rose will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame as the 2023 class of inductees, the team announced on Wednesday.
Additionally, Jay Horowitz, the team’s longtime media relations guru, will receive the team’s Hall of Fame Achievement Award.
Johnson, Leiter, Cohen and Rose will officially be inducted on Saturday, June 3 in a pre-game ceremony prior to the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citi Field. The four new additions means that there is now a total of 34 inductees in the Mets Hall of Fame.
The organization also announced that they will host a Zoom meeting on Thursday, January 19 at 11am with Johnson, Leiter, Cohen, Rose and Horowitz.
“It was an honor informing each of the four new members that they were going to be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame,” Mets owner Steve Cohen said in a statement. “Howard Johnson was the classic combination of speed and power, with three seasons of 30-homers and 30-stolen bases. Al Leiter, who grew up in New Jersey rooting for the Mets, ranks in the top 10 in team history in wins and strikeouts.
“Mets fans are privileged to have two of the very best in all of baseball describing the action with years of institutional Mets knowledge. Gary Cohen is set to start his 35th year of calling Mets games and Howie Rose has been covering the team since 1987. In addition, we are honoring Jay Horowitz, who has passionately worked for this organization for over 40 years, with the Hall of Fame Achievement Award. I’m looking forward to celebrating more Mets history on June 3.”
Johnson and Leiter are being inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame for their prowess on the field in a Mets uniform. Johnson put together three seasons of 30-homers and 30-stolen bases (1987, 1989, and 1991), which rank as the most in team history. The two-time All-Star (1989, 1991) and two-time Silver Slugger (1989, 1991) was the first switch-hitter to join the 30-30 club in major league history. He also ranks in the top five in franchise history in home runs, doubles, RBI and stolen bases. Johnson was a member of the 1986 World Series team and he spent nine years with the Mets.
Leiter, meanwhile, excelled on the mound for the Mets and he won double-digit games in seven straight years between 1998-2004. The two-time World Series winner ranks in the top 10 in franchise history in wins, innings, strikeouts and quality starts. Perhaps Leiter’s finest moment in a Mets uniform came in 1999 when he threw a two-hit shutout in a one-game playoff at Cincinnati. He also became the first pitcher to defeat all 30 major league teams. Leiter won both the Roberto Clemente Award and the Branch Rickey Award for his charitable endeavors.
As richly deserving as Johnson and Leiter are of being inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame for their heroics on the field, so too are Cohen and Rose for their expertise off it. Cohen began calling Mets games in the booth in 1989, right up until 2006 when he transitioned into the SNY booth. Cohen, who is the second-longest tenured Mets play-by-play announcer in team history, makes up one part of SNY’s famous broadcast booth with Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling.
Rose is known for entertaining the Mets masses with his distinctive voice on the radio as the team’s play-by-play announcer, a job he’s proudly been doing since 1996. Rose has been with the Mets since 1987 having grown up going to Shea Stadium. Inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2012, and welcomed into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019, Rose’s signature “Put it in the books” call is a welcome sound to all Mets fans after a win.
Finally, the organization will also honor Horowitz in a classy move. The longtime Mets PR guy joined the team on April, 1 1980 as the director of public relations. He was promoted to vice president of media relations in 2001, and he has been honored on a plethora of occasions for his undying commitment to the Mets. The decision to honor Horowitz is another sign that owner Steve Cohen is determined to pay tribute to all those who have left their mark on the franchise.
Further details will be announced by the Mets in due course. Mets fans can now purchase tickets for the June 3 game vs. the Blue Jays and the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony by clicking here.
The post Mets Announce 2023 Hall of Fame Inductees first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
