I gotta tell you, the times, they are a-changing. When I first joined the Mets broadcast team twenty years ago, computers were the size of a room! And to have one in your house? No one though that would ever happen. But, amazing as it may seem, a lot of things can change in twenty years. Nowadays, computers are everywhere. They’re in your television, in your stove – they’re even in supermarkets! I went to one the other day where they had a check-out lane without a cashier! Folks would just bring their food up to the conveyor belt, and scan and bag the food themselves! Lemme tell you, it sure was exciting to see. I even used it myself, just to see what it was like – it was great! If they can upgrade technology so regular folks like you and me can use supermarket scanners, imagine what the future holds in store!

Speaking of the future: next year, the Mets are going to introduce a new network dedicated to everything related to the New York Metropolitans. I don’t want to disappoint folks, but there’s a rumble that tells me I might not be part of the team that brings Mets baseball to the world in 2006. I gotta tell you, it’s going to be sad to leave the Mets behind, but it’s been a long time for me. Not many people can say they’ve been the voice of a baseball team for a whole generation, but I can. I’ve been with the Mets for over twenty years, and I’ve seen plenty of stuff during those years.

I saw Dr. K Doc Gooden operate on the National League. I saw Darryl Strawberry stir the drink. I saw Howard Johnson run and hit his way into record books. I went shopping for cherry bombs with Vince Coleman, hung out at Hooter’s with David Cone, and learned the ins and outs of Texas Holdem with Bobby Bonilla. I laughed with Dallas Green, I cried with Bud Harrelson, I played dress-up with Bobby Valentine. And I gotta say, every day I showed up for work was like the first day of a new job – my palms would sweat, my teeth would hurt, my nose would start bleeding, and my nervous system would kick in like nobody’s business. I hope I brought fans that same sense of first-day jitters each time you heard me talk.

And speaking of talk, I’ve been blessed to work with some of the best broadcasters ever, some that aren’t with us anymore. Guys like Bob Murphy, Gary Thorne, Rusty Staub – guys that pulled no punches and spared no expense in bringing fans every exciting pitch and swing. They were always supportive of me, and never hesitated to give me the room I needed to find my way, even if I didn’t find it the first or second or thirteenth time around. Sometimes I’m amazed that I’m still here while they’re somewhere else (or in poor Bob Murphy’s case, not anywhere), but I count myself lucky that I was able to call myself the voice of the New York Mets for over twenty years.

Out of all the years I’ve been with the Mets – the highs and lows, the ups and downs, the twists and turns – I gotta say that I’ve enjoyed this one the best. After last year’s disappointment, new GM Omar Minaya hired his guy, former Yankee great Willie Randolph, and opened up the checkbook to bring in prized guys like Carlos Beltran and Pedro Martinez and Kaz Ishii in to mix with exciting young guys like David Wright, the speedy Jose Reyes, and Dougie Mientkiewicz. This was set to be an exciting year, and it sure hasn’t disappointed. Every day I come to the park, I have no idea which team is going to show up. Every day was like Opening Day of a new season. One day, the team’s hitting the ball all over the place and striking everyone out, and the next, it’s the other team doing the hitting and pitching. One day, Pedro Martinez is on his way to pitching a no-hitter, and then the next day Shingo Takatsu is giving up the game winning hit to those pesky Atlanta Braves. It’s been a rollercoaster – the team’s .500 record is a sign of that – and it’s one I wouldn’t trade for anything.

In a way, it’s good that I leave with things this way – the team at .500, fighting for a playoff spot. It’s like things haven’t changed, and in a way, they haven’t. Ralph Kiner is still doing great work in front of the microphone, Keith Hernandez is still with the Mets, George Bush is still President, Mike Piazza is trying to get his nervous system up to fight another injury, Mr. Met is Mr. Met, and the apple in center field still pops up from that top hat each time someone in blue and orange goes deep. And, next year, the Mets will start off the year with the same record as everyone else, and with the same chances to win another World Series. I don’t know what’s next for me – maybe some other team will have me in their broadcast booth, or maybe I’ll move on to another sport, or write a book about my life in baseball, or even become a manager – but I do know that this ending with the Mets has been over twenty years in the making, and that’s a long time.

Fran Healy has been a play-by-play announcer and analyst for the New York Mets since 1984. He enjoys playing basketball, working out, and sampling the restaurants of New York.