Don, Hahn & Rosenberg — Hour 1: NY Baseball Check In

Date: September 16, 2025
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg (ESPN New York)

Overview

This episode dives into the emotional rollercoaster of the 2025 baseball season for New York's Mets and Yankees, in what was meant to be a high-stakes, star-driven year that fizzled into underwhelming realities for both fanbases. The hosts check in on the “temperature” of New York’s baseball faithful, critique team performances, discuss playoff scenarios, commiserate over fan disappointments, and weave in classic banter about studio quirks and New York sports culture.

Section 1: The 2025 Baseball Season — From Hype to Heartbreak

Timestamps: 01:05–06:00

Main Points:

• The season began with enormous expectations: Mets and Yankees as powerhouses, loaded with stars (Soto vs. Judge narrative).
• Both teams have faltered—Mets started hot but collapsed; Yankees failed to live up to World Series runner-up status.
• Emotional fatigue is high for both fanbases; hope has been squeezed out as fall approaches.

Quotes:

“This was supposed to be the baseball season where it’s Mets versus Yankees…Soto versus Judge. All it’s been is two teams…with the exception of the Mets when they started the season red hot…It’s really mostly been Yankee fans complaining, and rightly so, that this team is not where they’re supposed to be. And the Mets being one of the worst teams in baseball since the middle of June. This was not what we signed up for here.”
— Don La Greca (04:00)

"The second half of the season has been ‘who sucks less?’... All the wind got sucked out of the sails after May."
— Alan Hahn (05:32)

Notable Segment:

• Reflects on how the rivalry element has faded due to both teams' inconsistencies.
• Discussion on how fans have clung to "hope" ("the four-letter word") despite pessimistic reality.

“You’re holding onto that four-letter word, hope, but your eyes tell you something different.”
— Alan Hahn (06:00)

Section 2: Playoff Scenarios, Disappointment, and Hope

Timestamps: 06:00–16:50

Key Discussion:

• Despite flaws, both teams are barely in the playoff picture due to weak competition.
• The Mets are “backing in” to a wild card spot; the Yankees are fighting for home-field advantage in the Wild Card round.
• Playoff paths are analyzed—Yankees could face Red Sox or Blue Jays; Mets likely get Dodgers or Padres; none are favorable.
• The hosts express how the structure of baseball playoffs fosters false hope for underwhelming teams.

Quotes:

"It shouldn't be about a run. It’s supposed to be about setting the bar. Did anybody think in their wildest dreams in spring training that...we’d be talking about a Yankee team five games back of the Blue Jays for first place...and the Mets...eliminated in the NL East by mid-September?”
— Don La Greca (07:44)

"The only chance of the Yankees and Mets competing in October is on the golf course."
— Caller Javier (36:37)

Memorable Moment:

• Joking about which teams are even truly threatening in the postseason; the Blue Jays, Tigers, and Mariners are “good but not threatening” due to lack of proven playoff pedigree.
• Met fans' hope for a miracle is mocked as irrational but relatable.

Section 3: The Sense of Futility and New York Sports Malaise

Timestamps: 16:50–20:00

Topics Covered:

• Broader theme of disappointment in NY sports: not just baseball, but looming NFL woes (Jets, Giants off to bad starts).
• The very real possibility that both baseball teams are gone from the postseason before Knicks/NHL openers—rare and demoralizing.
• Compares NY sports fans' “moral victories” to hollow hope in both baseball and football.

Quote:

“Both teams could be out before Halloween. That doesn’t happen often, right?”
— Alan Hahn (17:47)

Section 4: Listener Calls — Fan Fatalism and Realism

Timestamps: 36:27–39:37

Caller: Javier from Queens

• Asserts “almost no faith” in either team, especially the Mets (“no solution for their starting pitching problem”).
• Suggests Mets and Yankees will be “competing for tee times” in October.
• Calls out the weak bullpens as fatal flaws; the only hope is the league is “down.”
• Craves Knicks basketball already as the only NY sport with real promise.

Quote:

"I think the only chance of the Yankees and Mets competing in October is on the golf course.”
— Javier (36:37)

Host Response:

• Don and Alan agree: both bullpens are liabilities, the regular season has been demoralizing, and October holds little real hope.

Section 5: Tangible Baseball Issues — Bullpen Collapse & Key Players

Timestamps: 38:05–39:37

Key Points:

• The Mets' bullpen, once among the league’s best, collapsed midseason (ERA jumped from 2.82 to 5.04 after June 12).
• Attempts to fix the bullpen through trades only made it worse.
• The Yankees’ offense is a high-strikeout, home-run-or-bust lineup; they have looked particularly inept at the plate recently.
• The panel debates the value of Giancarlo Stanton—great in postseason, but brutal slumps and injuries make him unreliable.

Quotes:

“When he goes bad, it’s bad...27 strikeouts in his last 51 at bats. He’s striking out more than half the time.”
— Don La Greca (49:02)

“What happened to the Mets is their bullpen went from one of the best to one of the worst and that’s end of story.”
— Alan Hahn (39:06)

Section 6: Banter, Studio Hijinks & NY Sports Media Inside Jokes

Timestamps: 24:11–36:14

Highlights:

• Extended, humorous debate about a Mets jersey (the "Mark Sasso jersey") being moved in the studio.
• Don is adamant about its place as a symbol of the show and team history—objects to anyone moving it without respect.
• The conversation devolves into a classic New York radio bit: arguing over background décor, who’s responsible, and studio “territory.”
• Peter jokes about “covering the whole studio in jerseys” to add character to their blandly colored set.
• Studio producers are “suspects” for the jersey being moved; Don stages mock outrage.

Quotes:

“I don’t like people touching other people’s stuff.”
— Don La Greca (26:49)

“It looks like someone took laundry and just pushed it on the wall.”
— Peter Rosenberg (28:24)

• This segment offers much-needed comic relief and captures the show's rapport and interplay between hosts.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Alan Hahn’s Summary of Fan Hopelessness:

  "You’re holding on to that four letter word hope, but your eyes tell you something different...That’s why I said, this team pisses me off so much.” (06:00)

• Don La Greca on Year-End Reality:

  “How are we in this spot with these two teams now...I didn’t think we’d be having a conversation in the middle of September that these two teams would be wild card teams.” (17:16)

• Fan Call (Javier):

  "I have almost no faith in either of the teams, probably less in the Mets...the only chance...is on the golf course." (36:37)

• Host Frustration Turned Humor (on losing hope for NY sports):

  "We're not out of September...we're done. We're not even going to get to Halloween."
  — Peter Rosenberg (18:31)

Section 7: Looking Ahead — Closing Thoughts

Timestamps: 49:51–end

• The hosts note that, barring a miraculous turnaround, both Mets and Yankees fans face a bleak October, with the real “next hope” being the start of basketball and hockey.
• There’s acknowledgment that neither team has a true foundation for postseason success, with bullpen and managerial issues persisting.
• The combative, bantering spirit continues throughout, with plenty of inside jokes and gentle ribbing both about baseball and within the show's production team.

Summary Takeaways

• The 2025 Mets and Yankees seasons have both fallen short of high expectations, mostly due to prolonged slumps, injuries, and bullpen meltdowns.
• Both hosts and fans are exhausted by repeated cycles of hope and disappointment, and most have little faith in meaningful postseason runs.
• The show is laced with humor, authenticity, and classic New York sports fatalism—the kind that makes for compelling forum radio.
• The most vibrant moments come from the blend of serious baseball talk and playful, insider banter, a hallmark of Don, Hahn, & Rosenberg.

For Mets and Yankees fans who missed the episode: This hour provides catharsis and commiseration. While offering analysis and predictions, the hosts essentially voice what New York’s baseball community is feeling: exasperation, reluctant hope, and plenty of wisecracks to get you through to the next season.