Fran Healy
vs. the Mets
Game Log
Memories of
Fran Healy

Fran Healy
Healy
Francis Xavier Healy
Born: September 6, 1946 at Holyoke, Mass.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.05 Weight: 220

Fran Healy was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on December 29, 2010, and September 6, 2012.

Non-playing roles with Mets
  • Broadcaster: Television 1984 - 2005

Share your memories of Fran Healy

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Jim Snedeker
April 18, 2002
Healy was catching for the Giants the day Willie Mays debuted for the Mets. Willie hit a home run that won the game that day.

Jon
April 19, 2002
I'm sure Fran is a very nice man who means well, but I don't listen to him any more. He's in the broadcast no-man's land: Not skilled enough at game-calling get you involved; and as an ex-jock, he rarely offers any insight that the picture doesn't show you. I turn down the TV sound and listen to radio call every night.

Glen Slater
April 23, 2002
I can't stand Healy's voice. He has a voice that, by contrast, makes the great, late Johnny Most's (Celtics play-by-play) "frog" voice sound as smooth and velvety as Jim Reeves singing a slow ballad.

He's also boring, and comes off as a complete buffoon with some of the idiotic things he says.

Why do the Mets keep this guy year after year? I don't understand it. It's not like the guy ever PLAYED for the Mets. He began his announcing career with the Yankees, who he played for; how he not only ended up announcing for the Mets, but is able to stay on year after year is as much a mystery as why they kept Ron Hodges for all those years, as someone remarked about in the "Ron Hodges Section" of this website. (although I personally LIKED Ron Hodges, as he was the Mets' last link to that wonderful '73 season).

NJ Tank
May 18, 2002
Not only is he the worst announcer in Mets history, he may be the worst in baseball history. His voice has the effect of a fork on a chalkboard, only sometimes it is a lot worse. His phrases are not only tiring they are boring, and sound completely unprofessional. He is so bad he makes who ever is announcing with him sound terrible too.

Brian
May 26, 2002
I would like to know how Fran got those pictures of the un-named Mets Executive naked in a compromising position. How else can you explain how he has lasted this long? With the fans adamantly against him (just read the newsgroups or Mets.com messageboards!), it amazes me that the Mets bring this sorry excuse for a broadcaster back year after year. "Can of Corn" kind of decision I guess - how else can you justify it?

David
June 22, 2002
Frankly, I think Fran must be buddies with the Dolans at Cablevision because there is no other posiible explanation for his longevity. At least Seaver and Hernandez, as bad as they are, have someting to do with the Mets, and, unlike Ralph, Healy's miscues and muffs aren't endearing. He sort of fits into the Bobby Mercer School of Broadcasting - always restate the obvious and then beat it senseless into the ground. I'd love to get him into the booth with John Sterling; how exciting would that be? two top flight announcers at the peak of their game. Maybe they can get the weekend sports guys from WPIX, Sean what's his name, to join them to form an all bland team.

Banger7
October 25, 2002
Perhaps the worst afternoon of baseball I ever experienced was watching a Mets spring training game on Fox Sports, with Healy, Tom Seaver and Keith Hernandez announcing.

Not only did I have to deal with Healy's whine, Seaver's mouth full of cotton, and Hernandez's overly- critical input (it's a !@$!@#% spring training game!), but it was against the Expos! Watching the Mets scrubs play AAAA scrubs is bad enough, but I had to listen to Healy repeatedly say "Muhntreal" and Seaver say "flipaloo"!

This game ranked about as low as the game in the early 90s, late in the season, when a car alarm went off in the parking lot, and due to the lack of attendance, it could clearly be heard for 15 minutes! It was so bad that the announcers even commented on it.

Mr. Sparkle
January 16, 2003
I was at a Mets game in the mid 80's with a friend of mine and there was a long rain delay in the top of the ninth. So 95% of the people at Shea filed out of the stadium. I never like to leave before the last out so my friend and I decided to go to the press level and walk around. It was pretty cool walking around there and no one was really around. We snuck into a booth and hung out for a few minutes. Then we walked outside and ran into McCarver. We greeted Tim with a big hello and he was like "hi" and kept going. A minute later we passed the immortal Bob Murphy and, both excited, yelled "MURPH!!!" at the top of our lungs. We were pretty loaded at this point. We startled him and he almost spilled his coffee, "Uh, hi there." It was great. Then a minute later, we saw Healy who I wasn't all that thrilled with at the time. Fran sees us and says "Hey fellas, how's it going?" with a sincere excitement in his voice. I was pumped that he was so nice, even in that small dose. McCarver seemed annoyed by us, Murph seemed scared, but Fran seemed like he was saying hello to old buddies. Small things like that mean a lot to me and I have loved Fran ever since. I know I'm in the minority but I really think Fran does a good job and I for one enjoy listening to him. He's a good Irishman and he'll always be OK in my book.

Larry Burns
January 17, 2003
Sparks I have to agree with you. Whenever I hear him he seems so freaking excited to be around baseball and the Mets. Maybe he is not the best "technical" announcer, but you know he loves it and his enthusiasm is contagious. So I do not care if he is not the greatest in the world, he is all right in my book.

rich edwards
May 14, 2004
I've been watching and listening to the Mets since Gus Bell lined a single to right off Larry Jackson. I've never had any gripes with any of their announcers except this guy. He is the absolute worst. He must have pictures of someone in a compromising position.

original met 62
June 14, 2004
Though he tries hard, Fran Healy is always saying things the fans know already. He has two phrases that drive my son and I crazy : The first is "score it 5 to 3." The casual fan has no idea what he is talking about; they might think he is giving the time. The other is "Shea Stadium will be jumping." I have passed by Shea Stadium many times and I have never seen it leave its feet. Keep showing the gift shop Franny, and promoting Met Shops in the city. What a shill for the Orange and Blue.

rich kleinke
January 20, 2005
I think this man is ridiculously stupid. He always makes up some outrageous scenario (like with 1 man out and runners on 2nd and 3rd base and the pitcher up - assuming he's a "good" hitting pitcher, that maybe the Mets should walk the pitcher intentionally to set up a double play situation), and then he actually tries to convince the other announcer and THE AUDIENCE that he's right. What a dunce - bring us back Rusty Staub.

Jonathan Stern
March 3, 2005
I remember Fran Healy handling the firing of Torborg, which took place during his post-game show, very professionally. I also remember him peppering Eddie Murray with tough questions towards the end of the 1993 season (along the lines of "Do you want to be back next year?"). Perhaps he had rare special permission from the front office to go after Murray, but that he did it as well as anyone on the Fan could not denied. And, in addition, Healy is terrific on his Halls of Fame cable show, and has done many good interviews of Mets alumni as well. From the beginning, dating back to his days with the Yankees, Healy has been a natural before the mikes and cameras. He is also very pleasant with fans and, from most reports, a good guy to be with so long as some of his broadcasting partners aren't nearby trying not to punch him.

The point is that Healy not really a bad announcer. Rather, he has decided to be a mediocre-to-bad announcer in the interest of maintaining a long career with the Mets. That may sound strange, but it's not too difficult to understand. Be unceasingly cheerful, always speak well of the front office, promote concessions and memorabilia like there's no tomorrow, rarely add anything of substance to the coverage, never say anything controversial about the ballclub, and, when in doubt, don't even talk about the game. Combine all of that with a willingness to work cheaper than other broadcasters (this according to Phil Mushnick) and voila! A two-decades-plus career as a Mets announcer. The morale of the story: sometimes it is in one's best interests to underachieve.

Bob P
March 4, 2005
Jonathan, I agree with you about Fran. I think he's probably a very nice man who, for one reason or another, has not grown professionally in his career. Bob Murphy also was unceasingly cheerful, spoke well of the team, and rarely said anything controversial about the Mets or their players. But you got the feeling he really meant everything he said. Fran sounds more saccharine and more contrived.

It's hard to believe that Fran has been broadcasting Mets games longer than Lindsey Nelson did!

Mark F
March 16, 2005
I think anyone on this message board who said anything negative about Fran Healy being a horrible announcer is crazy. Yes, he did not have the glamour big league career as other announcers have had but in my opinion he is one of the best announcers out there. I have been a Met fan all my life and my brother and I enjoy listening to him when he is doing a Met broadcast on TV. I am not going to criticize any other announcers but a couple of them, especially certain ones on the Mets, should not be so critical about everything. Fran is very positive about the game and the players. Keep up the great work Fran Healy!

Jim
May 22, 2005
I am at a point where I just cannot listen to Healy anymore. Whether it be the sound of his voice or his stupid sayings like "hitting a frozen rope" which he has to repeat seven times until someone in the booth acknowledges him. Think about it: you have Gary Cohen and Howie Rose (the Rolls Royce of a baseball broadcast) or Fran Healy (a beat up clunker). I'd say a no-brainer.

Robbie
July 10, 2005
He is terrible. He has an annoying accent. He wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't on so many games. Someone on here said that Fran is better than Vin Scully and Jack Buck. I won't even dignify that with a response.

Rob
August 18, 2005
Every time I hear the word "confidence" come out of this shlub's mouth I want to scream. Confidence, confidence, confidence. It's gotten so bad that Hernandez and Ted Robinson mock the guy about it on air. He has also redefined the meaning of tangent:

Case in point I'm watching the game and a beach ball was just thrown onto the field. Fran just went into an explanation of the origins of basketball, then digressing into volleyball somehow. What are you talking about? Thank god for good announcers like Ted Robinson and Gary Thorne that keep you informed and entertained by talking about the game and not diverting from it.

Please don't re-sign this guy for the Mets Network!

Jonathan Stern
November 15, 2005
According to the Post, Fran Healy's Mets career is over. He will remain at MSG to work at the Sportsdesk and continue to host Halls of Fame (which, as I wrote above, he does very well). So I close this chapter of Mr. Healy's career with (what else?) a Mets memory. We take you now to Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium:

Howie: I think everyone agrees that the Phanatic is the best mascot in all of baseball.

Fran: Well, don't forget that little man with the big round head who struts around Shea Stadium!

So long, Fran.

Bonbolito
November 18, 2005
A couple of years ago I was watching a Mets-Padres game with Ralph Kiner and Fran at the mikes. The topic of discussion this lazy Sunday afternoon was San Diego's lack of large crowds. Ralph opined that the Padres always had trouble drawing people into the park because it's so beautiful there. The weather's always great, and people have other things to do like going to the beach. Fran then happily chirped that with the now known connection between skin cancer and overexposure to the sun, more people were coming out to the ballpark to avoid the risk.

pat lydon
December 28, 2005
I have a question: Are there any fans out there that actually like Fran Healy? He's unlistenable! His voice is horrible, he's an outright shill, and his analysis is a joke! He never shuts up! His style is so overbearing and the way kisses up to Ralph Kiner is embarrassing. You try and relax and enjoy the game but wtih him it's not possible. Hey, maybe he's a terrific guy in person but as an announcer, no way!

BW
December 28, 2005
One previous writer said we don't deserve Fran Healy as an announcer. Let's just say I agree. No one does.

One other thing -- for all you who've felt the need to say "I'm sure he's a nice guy..." don't worry any longer. All the people I know from the press box and TV booth say he's not.

Patrick
March 10, 2006
Fran Healy is always my favorite part of any broadcast. His genuine love of the game and happiness to be a part of it are contagious. As much as I loved Keith Hernandez as a player, he is pretty dry and negative on the air. (I have heard him not only criticize players and coaches, but also fans for being fat or unattractive.) The stark contrast between them - the obvious disdain Keith had for Fran and the fact that Fran didn't notice/didn't care - always added entertainment value to the game. Fran would keep him in line or at least interrupt him long enough to make what he was talking about irrelevant. Fran, I am going to miss you.

Doctor Worm
July 7, 2006
I thought Fran was OK as an analyst when he had the good sense to use his normal speaking voice.

As a play-by-play man he was awful. You've heard about guys who have a face for radio? Fran has a voice for silent movies. He made matters worse by his intonation and pausing. He must have thought he was Marv Albert or Ian Eagle. He isn't.

Kevin C. Delahanty
June 12, 2010
Fran Healy's grandson is in my daughter's kindergarten class. His daughter (and son-in-law and family) lives within 5 minutes walk of my house. I met him last night at a t-ball game; his grandson and my daughter played against one another. He could not have been a nicer man. In a conversation, he is always asking questions about YOU, making you feel that your life's experiences are important and interesting. When you can get him to tell a story, you're hooked, and you're willing to stay with him however long he talks and wherever the conversation goes. He's "aces" in my book.

Frank
April 13, 2019
Me and my friend Joe were fans of Fran Healy and I had no idea most of the fan base hated him. The thing we enjoyed most about Fran’s broadcast was when he said Got Em’ after a strikeout. My brother is a pretty good artist and we were going to have him make a sign with a drawing of Fran and the words Got Em’ is big letters. Not long after we found out that Fran would not be coming back for the 2006 season. The Got Em’ sign was never made.








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