NEW YORK — Michael Kay has called Yankees games for more than two decades. He has interviewed the biggest names in sports. He survived the brutal New York media landscape. But a single compliment from a former colleague was apparently too much to bear.
The longtime voice of the Yankees sent a blunt text message to his former ESPN Radio co-host Peter Rosenberg this week. The message was short and brutal. It read simply: “You’re dead to me.”
What drove Kay to deliver such a harsh dismissal? The answer reveals something about the fragile dynamics of sports media friendships in New York.
A radio partnership that lasted nearly a decade
Kay, Rosenberg and Don La Greca worked together on ESPN New York from 2015 until the end of 2024. Their afternoon show became appointment listening for Yankees fans and New York sports junkies.
The chemistry worked. Three distinct personalities bouncing off each other for hours every day. Kay brought the Yankees expertise and broadcasting gravitas. Rosenberg offered pop culture knowledge and wrestling passion. La Greca provided the everyman sports fan perspective.
Then in December 2024, Kay announced he was stepping back. The 22-year run of The Michael Kay Show would end. Kay wanted a lighter schedule to balance his duties as the Yankees television voice on YES Network. He moved to a solo midday show in January 2025. Rosenberg and La Greca stayed in the afternoon slot with new co-host Alan Hahn.
The relationship began to cool quickly
Just weeks after splitting up professionally, Kay complained on air that his personal relationship with Rosenberg had deteriorated. Despite being the one who left the show, Kay blamed Rosenberg for not keeping up with their off-air friendship.
That set the stage for what came next. Kay was waiting for something to fuel the feud. He found it on a wrestling podcast of all places.
A compliment to another broadcaster lit the fuse
Rosenberg co-hosts the Cheap Heat wrestling podcast. During a recent episode, he praised ESPN and WWE broadcaster Joe Tessitore for his work calling wrestling events.
“He is the best point guard that I’ve maybe ever worked with,” Rosenberg said of Tessitore. “He empowers me and Big E so much. Man, he’s flawless. The guy’s constantly flawless.”
Kay heard that compliment. He took it personally. The implication that Tessitore was a better facilitator than Kay himself was too much for the Yankees voice to accept.
That is when Kay sent the text message declaring Rosenberg dead to him.
La Greca defends Rosenberg on air
La Greca, who has worked with Kay longer than anyone, did not hold back when discussing the situation on the Don, Hahn and Rosenberg show this week.
“He’s mad at Peter because Peter doesn’t think he’s the best at something,” La Greca said of Kay’s gripe. “He didn’t disrespect him. You didn’t make him the best. That’s ridiculous.”
La Greca made a valid point. Rosenberg never said anything negative about Kay. He simply praised someone else. For Kay, that was apparently enough to end a friendship.
Rosenberg fires back with a memorable line
Rosenberg addressed the situation on air with his trademark humor and honesty. He offered perhaps the most fitting description of Kay’s personality that anyone has ever given.
“Michael is the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral,” Rosenberg said. “Everything has to be Michael!”
The line drew laughs from his co-hosts and sparked conversation across New York sports media. It captured something many have observed about Kay over the years. He commands attention. He demands respect. And he does not take kindly to being upstaged.
Kay remains the voice of the Yankees
The spat with Rosenberg will not change Kay’s status in the New York sports landscape. He signed a multi-year extension with the YES Network in March 2023. He will continue calling Yankees games for the foreseeable future.
Kay has been the Yankees television voice since 2002. He was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016 and the New York State Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2018. His career accomplishments are secure.
But the incident with Rosenberg offers a window into the personality behind the microphone. Kay has always been open about his sensitivity and competitive nature. He feuded publicly with Mike Francesa for years. He does not shy away from conflict.
Whether he and Rosenberg will patch things up remains to be seen. For now, a decade of shared laughs and on-air moments has been reduced to four cold words: “You’re dead to me.”
What do you think?
