The new play-by-play announcer was no veteran but a "kidcaster" who had practiced in front of a basement TV in his Long Island home before his big moment.
Twelve-year-old Johnny Gadamowitz may have sounded like an old pro and knew Mets history, when he took the mic just as pitcher Matt Harvey came up to bat against the Colorado Rockies, but he was just filling in at Citi Field as a contest winner.
"I wish he could get in some more wins," he said of the starter Harvey. "He gets too many no decisions."
For five minutes during the bottom of the second inning, Johnny called the plays with the Mets' regular broadcasters and both Cohen and Hernandez were impressed the boy's memory and joked that he could take over for them.
Young Johnny won the gig with an essay in the annual kidcaster contest held by SportsNet New York, the TV home of the Mets.
In a 100-word essay on what he most enjoyed about watching the Mets, Johnny said it was being with his grandfather — a Mets fan ever since the Dodgers left Brooklyn. It was in front of the television, many times with his grandfather, that Johnny decided he wanted to get into the sports and media field.
"When I was doing the play by play, it was a really fun experience," he said of his exhilarating stint in the broadcast booth, "but I was at the same time trying to think of stuff to say so there wasn't any dead space."
Ah, dead space — the bane of all broadcasts.
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