Gary Thorne
Thorne
Gary Thorne


Gary Thorne was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on March 9, 2021.

Non-playing roles with Mets
  • Broadcaster 1985 - 1988, 1994 - 2002

Share your memories of Gary Thorne

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Jim Snedeker
April 18, 2002
 I love Gary's style. He's knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and knows how to throw in a time-worn cliche or two.

He knows how to deliver play-by-play the right way. In short, he's a true sports broadcasting professional.

Gary from Chesapeake
April 20, 2002
 Gary Thorne IS a terrific professional. I'm proud the Mets gave him his first big league break, recruiting him from the Maine Guides AAA club in the '80's. And there is NO better hockey announcer on the planet than Gary Thorne! I'm so glad he is back with the Mets - I just wish he was on the radio, too, because we don't get the Mets on cable down here.

flushing flash
April 22, 2002
 He is great, isn't he? He made me quickly forget about Steve LaMar when he came over in 1985. On June 11 of that season he recapped the Mets infamous 26-7 loss to the Phillies and ended by saying, "and the turning point of the ballgame, Bob, was the National Anthem." Murph, in an attempt to keep from laughing out loud, almost choked to death.

King of Queens
April 24, 2002
 I'm definitely a fan of Gary Thorne from his days on the radio with Bob Murphy. What gets me is when I hear a big Mets fan like Joe Benigno on WFAN saying that he'd rather listen to that bag of wind John Sterling over Gary Thorne.

Barry F.
April 28, 2002
 I've always enjoyed Thorne. He seemed to be at his best whenever Carter would homer. "Goodbye! Home run, Gary Carter!" He yelled, yes. But it was an appropriate yell. Some players homer and you say "OK, he got lucky once." Others make you go nuts. Whenever Piazza hits one of his clutch shots, Thorne is a good man to have around.

Brian C. Steinberg
May 26, 2002
 I think he is a great sports announcer! I am amazed of how many games he annouces for. One night he is announcing for a hockey game on the West Coast and the next night he is announcing a Met game on the East Coast. How does he do it? Beem me up Gary!

Ed K
May 29, 2002
 Gary is very much a pro but I think his booming voice is better on TV because it isn't as constant as radio play by play which can be a bit much at times. And he is even better at hockey. I recall that his hockey commitments may have cost him his radio stint with the Mets in the 1980's. He was the TV guy for the Devils who were awful in the early 80's but became a Cinderella playoff team around 1985 or 1986. Suddenly, Gary was trying to juggle playoff hockey games and baseball games in Arpil and May. Trying to please Frank Cashen and Lou Lemariello is truly being caught between a rock and a hard place. I recall him doing a Met game at the Vet on a Sunday afternoon and driving up the NJ Turnpike to do the Devils playoff game on Sunday night. After 1988, Gary was gone from the Mets until returning to do TV in 1994 when Cashen had given up the reins.

Won Doney
June 28, 2002
 I don't understand why everyone loves him so much. Out of all of the Mets announcers, he drives me crazy the most. He may be an okay broadcaster, but only for the other 29 teams in baseball. Even when the Mets are going strong, he has something bad to say about them. And when he says something bad about the Mets (which is all the time), he never stops. He's annoying.

Karl de Vries
August 21, 2002
 I like Gary Thorne's style, and I particularly love his call on Gary Carter's second home run in Game 4 of the 86 World Series:

"Carter hits it high and deep, say GOOOODBYE home run!"

Jim Snedeker
September 6, 2002
 As much as I like Gary, I am starting to agree with others here, that he can be a bit much at times. When the local sports guy starts his call-in show in the afternoon, he plays clips from recent memorable sports moments, including Gary calling Bobby Bonds's 71st home run to break McGwire's record: "BONDS SWINGS!!!!!! HITS IT DEEP TO RIGHT!!!!!!!! IS THIS THE ONE???????!!!!!!! THERE'S YOUR NEW ALL-TIME SINGLE-SEASON MARK!!!!! AND IT'S BARRY BONDS!!!!!! (pause for oxygen) WITH THE TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As if it were a big surprise that he'd do it. And Gary sounded like he was trying to out-scream a 747.

Heather Welch
June 5, 2003
 Gary Thorne is the MAN!

I have read through the other comments and I agree with most of what I have read... a couple of the comments implying that his style is "too much to take" are probably written by people who enjoy a boring, bland lifestyle in general. I will take those with a grain of salt... pun intended.

Now back to my Thorne. I call him "My Thorne" because when the hubby and I are sitting down to watch the Mets, or a hockey game, the first thing we ask is "Where's my Thorne?" . He is an icon in my household. I find that his style combines knowlege of the games and sports, wit and humor in a package that is entertaining to listen to. I dare say that Thorney is among the greatest announcers ever. There aren't many like him around anymore.

Everytime I go to type "Thorne" on the computer keyboard, I type "Throne" and have to correct myself. Coincidence? Gary Thorne is the KING!!!

OK, I've said my peace! Let's Go Mets!

brooklyn511
June 17, 2003
 I really miss Gary Thorne since he went off to broadcast hockey. He was a much better partner for Seaver than the guy they have now, Dave O'Brian. Thorne and Seaver rarely payed attention to the game, but at least they were entertaining.

Jonathan Stern
July 14, 2003
 The guy could not go two pitches without finding something to giggle at. He and Seaver spent whole games laughing. After a while, it was simply not funny. And they weren't even trying to call the game, whether it was 1999 or 2002. They even broke into a song several times. I hoped they were drunk. If they were sober, I would have been concerned for their mental health. Gary Thorne is fondly remembered by many Mets fans for his assocation with the 1986 team, but his second tour of duty was painful. With Dave O'Brien, I now no longer mute the TV and turn on the FAN. He has helped make Seaver listenable again, among other things.

Albert
July 24, 2003
 Gary was a great part of the broadcast team. Always yelled "Goodbye home run!" It's unfortunate he was let go, although I like Dave O'Brien on the weekends.

Gilinfiji
July 13, 2004
 For some reason, whenever I listened to him doing radio and before I saw what he looked like, I always envisioned Thorne as "Hoppy," the stereotypical white, uptight cop on "Sanford and Son" who had the stereotypical, streetwise black partner, "Smitty."

LenDog
August 12, 2004
 I think Gary Thorne is the best Met announcer ever (excluding, of course, Bob, Ralph, and Lindsey, who are in their own special place.)

He has a great announcer's voice, a sense of humor (are you listening, Mike Krukow, humorless dud I have to endure out here in San Francisco?), and a great sense of excitement. I.e., he knows how and when to raise the volume level to reflect the action. Some announcers never get excited; others shout at ordinary events. Thorne was loud when the situation called for it and subdued when it called for it.

flushing flash
August 12, 2004
 I just came back from the Bob Murphy memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Gary Thorne was gracious enough to speak, and he reminded everyone that the service should be a celebration of the Murph's life, and that everyone should leave the cathedral with a smile on his or her face. He then proceeded to tell some very funny anecdotes about life as a Mets broadcaster with Murph and Ralph.

His speech was the highlight of a very poignant afternoon. Classy guy, that Gary Thorne.

original mets 62
March 1, 2005
 There was no better radio team than Gary Thorne and Bob Murphy when they did the games commencing in 1985. His calls during the 1986 season (Unbelievable !!!!!) during the post -season wiil always stand out in my mind. Gary tells it like it is but he is a much better person on radio.

Tom Shannon
April 13, 2005
 I would pay thousands to have this guy back in the booth for the Mets. I remember the glory days of the mid to late 80's when I had him doing flawless broadcasts with Murph on WFAN, and all 82 games of the New Jersey Devils on Sports Channel.

Steve Cavallo
March 10, 2006
 There are very few people who can call a baseball or hockey game like Gary. He is a real class act who can get a viewer really caught up in the action.

He voice is very pleasant to listen to and he is extremely accurate in his calling of a game.

I was sorry to see him leave the Mets and look forward to listening to him in the future.

Mr. Met
August 19, 2006
 I absolutely LOVED Thorne and Seaver. Thorne brought out the best in Seaver, and was not afraid to lay the hammer on the Mets when they were going bad (which, for the years he and the Franchise were covering the Mets, was a good deal of the time). I'm sure that blowhard Steve Phillips and all the other Mets suits hated hearing all the negativity coming from the booth, but at least it wasn't two buffoons like John Sterling and Charley Steiner who spent entire telecasts duelling over who had the more absurd home run call. And it was even sweeter to have Seaver of all people hammer the Mets and the team not be able to fire him, lest they take a huge public relations hit. Although Dave O'Brien sounded exactly like Thorne, you could tell that O'Brien was afraid to be critical like Thorne. Hey, I'm a lifelong Mets fan, but I'm also one of those guys that don't want the announcing team to treat me like an idiot. If the Mets are stinking up the joint, tell it like it is, don't sugarcoat it like the homers that work for the Yankees. Thorne is missed dearly.

Kevin
September 8, 2006
 For me, the baseball season doesn't start until I hear Gary Thorne doing spring training play by play. There's a video that true die hard Met fans will remember, its the 1986 video yearbook "A Season to Remember" filled with CLASSIC Thorne clips. Some go as follows:

Tim Teufel's 11th inning Grand Slam against the Phillies at Shea: "Swung on, thats the ballgame, into deep left field... That ball is GONE! GRAND SLAM TIMMY TEUFEL! The entire dugout is out for Timmy Teufel a pinch hit grand slam, and the New York Mets win it 8-4"

Gary Carter's memorable Home Run in Game 4 of the World Series: "Swung on and hit high and deep to left, say GOOOOOOOOOOOODBYE Home Run!"

My Personal Favorite is Darryl Strawberry's solo home run in the bottom of the 8th against Al Nipper in Game 7: "Swung on and hit high in the air to deep right field, Evans going back, at the track, at the wall, looking up, GOODBYE HOME RUN! DARRYL SSSSSTRAWBERRY! 7-5 NEW YORK!"

The guy is just flat out baseball. Yes he's great in hockey, he's a New England guy, so the hockey aspect comes by default, but hearing Gary Thorne on the microphone, whehter it's the radio, or TV, Mets games, or day games on ESPN, absolutely enhances the magic that is the game of baseball.

Shickhaus Franks
April 15, 2007
 Thank goodness that the MLB Extra Innings package is still on digital cable because on Tuesday Night April 10th 2007 while watching the FREE PREVIEW, I was watching a bunch of games and I get to the Tigers- Orioles game and there's good old Gary Thorne working for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network doing the Orioles games.

Chris Smith
April 27, 2007
 The guy is a moron! He doesn't know his butt from his elbow. I hope the Red Sox sue him for slander!

DailySkew
December 11, 2008
 Way too many positive memories here. I remember Gary and McCarver bashing, bashing, bashing the Mets whenever possible. The irony is that he's a clear homer for the Orioles now.

Shickhaus Franks
December 3, 2011
 In November 2011, Gary broadcast a college football game between Rutgers and Army from, of all places, Yankee Stadium on the CBS Sports Network which is on cable. His partner for the game was former NFL linebacker Randy Cross and during the game the duo had a great conversation with Rutgers LB Eric LeGrand who was paralyzed last year during a game (vs Army at the New Meadowlands Stadium). Eric is now working for Rutgers on their radio network keeping in his hand in football even though he can't play anymore and the conversation was fantastic!! Gary is a decent football announcer but he's way better with hockey (his call in the game winning goal of the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals still makes Buffalo hockey fans vomit like a supermodel) and of course baseball. If the Mets decide to give Wayne Hagen the boot, maybe GT can return for a 3rd tour of duty with the Mets on the radio side to tag team with Howie Rose!!

Quality Met
July 6, 2012
 I remember Gary for two particular three-word phrases. They are "He did it!" and "Looking up, goodbye!" He said the former at the tail end of Game 3 of the 1986 NLCS as Bob Murphy was describing a long fly ball hit by Len Dykstra. Gary stepped on Bob's line a bit with these words, sneaking ahead of him to tell the listening audience of Lenny's game-winning blast. The latter came in Game 7 of the '86 World Series when he was calling Ray Knight's home run that put the Mets ahead for good on their way to the championship. Two great memories from the best season ever for a New York based team. Gary will always be a part of Mets history.

Ed K
July 19, 2021
 It is great hearing Gary sub for Cohen this weekend. Just like old times.

Al
August 8, 2021
 Thorne stinks. I know they are not in the ballpark but his delivery of the game based on simply watching from the monitors is god awful? His voice is monotone and his use of old cliches makes him cringe worthy.








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