Steven N. Gelbs (born February 1, 1987) is an American sportscaster and sports reporter who covers the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

for SNY.

Steve Gelbs and Eric Campbell on July 12, 2014 (cropped)

Early life and education

Steven N. Gelbs was born to Scott H. and Robin A. Gelbs on February 1, 1987, in

Rego Park, Queens Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...

. He grew up in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

. He has two younger brothers, Jared and Adam; they were raised in

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

. In the 1990s, when Steve was growing up, his father served as a

physical therapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

team. Gelbs became a fan of the Rangers, attending Rangers games in part due to his father's position with the team. In his youth, Gelbs was also a fan of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Gelbs' uncle operated a

dry cleaning Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known i ...

business; among his customers was

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

, who provided the young Gelbs with an autograph, made out to "Little Steven." Gelbs graduated with a BA from the

Newhouse School of Public Communications The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, commonly known as Newhouse School, is the communications and journalism school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; music business; graphic d ...

at Syracuse University.

Career

Gelbs began his career broadcasting at MSG Varsity, later moving on to

MSG Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium Salt (chemistry), salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a fl ...

, where he served as the host of MSG 150 during New York Knicks and

telecasts. Gelbs joined SNY in 2013. His first assignment involved covering a

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Boar ...

game for the network. For the 2014 season, Gelbs filled in for

Kevin Burkhardt Kevin Burkhardt (born ) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the lead play-by-play voice for the ''NFL on Fox'' and lead studio host for ''Fox Major League Baseball''. Burkhardt was formerly a reporter with SportsNet New York (SNY) du ...

for 50 games, leading to him replacing Burkhardt beginning in the 2015 New York Mets season as Burkhardt left for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

. In 2009, Gelbs won the Syracuse Press Club award for "Best Radio Sports Feature." He has also been nominated for four

New York Emmy Awards The New York Emmy Awards are a division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honoring those in television and advanced media in the tri-state New York-New Jersey-Connecticut and New York State New York, officially the St ...

, including "Sports Anchor of the Year" in 2012. Gelbs, along with fellow broadcasters

Keith Hernandez Keith Hernandez (born October 20, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Hernandez was a five-time All-Star who shared the 1979 NL MVP ...

Gary Cohen Gary Cohen (born ) is an American sportscaster, best known as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. Cohen currently calls Mets broadcasts for SNY and WPIX and Seton Hall basketball gam ...

, and

Ron Darling Ronald Maurice Darling Jr. (born August 19, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a m ...

, won the 2019 Sterling Award for best broadcasting booth in the MLB.

Personal life

On November 21, 2015, Gelbs married Julie Straus, whom he had proposed to in 2014. He has two children, born in 2019 and 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gelbs, Steve American radio sports announcers Jewish American sportspeople Living people Major League Baseball broadcasters National Hockey League broadcasters New York Rangers announcers New York Mets announcers Sportspeople from Greenwich, Connecticut People from Rego Park, Queens Sportspeople from Queens, New York 1987 births 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews American Reform Jews S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni