New York Mets announcer Gary Cohen is known for his flawless delivery, whether he’s calling game action or reading an advertisement for chewable erectile disfunction medicine.
The trick, as he revealed to broadcast partner Keith Hernandez on Saturday, is not thinking too hard.
Case in point: Cohen was reading a few spots during the Mets’ 8-2 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies on Saturday when he came across one for BlueChew.
‘… By BlueChew,’ Cohen said, adding the company tag line: ‘Chew it and do it.’
Hernandez, the color commentator and beloved former Mets first baseman, couldn’t help but ask: ‘What did you mean by that?’
Cohen didn’t struggle for an answer.
Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez speak to the crowd during the 2020 Baseball Writers’ Association of America awards dinner on Saturday, January 25, 2020
‘I just read the copy here,’ Cohen calmly told Hernandez. ‘I try to give it a good read. Try and give the advertiser everything that they paid for, Keith. And then it’s somebody else’s problem.’
The exchange provided fans with a few laughs, given that BlueChew is an ED medication. So while ‘chew it and do it’ is a rather straightforward tag line, Cohen somehow managed to keep his dignity in the face of Hernandez’s prodding with the help of some willful ignorance.
‘I did read it well, didn’t I?’ Cohen asked.
‘Oh, you’re a champ,’ Hernandez responded without giving away anything. ‘You’re a pro.’
In addition to their collective laughter, Mets fans responded to the exchange by reasserting their opinion that Cohen, Hernandez and Ron Darling remain the best announcers in baseball.
‘The Mets have the best booth and it’s not even close,’ one fan wrote on X.
Another added: ‘I don’t know how I will ever survive without these guys at the booth. They have truly left the most largest of shoes to ever fill. It doesn’t get better than these guys. They defined my childhood they have been with me my whole life.’
