Kevin Burkhardt's last Mets game on SNY is Sept. 25

It might be slightly overshadowed by Derek Jeter's final home game and the Giants-Redskins game the same night, but Sept. 25 will mark a mini-milestone in local sports: Kevin Burkhardt's final game on SNY as the Mets reporter.

Burkhardt, 40, a former car salesman in New Jersey, has seen his career skyrocket in his eight seasons on the job, notably including his elevation to Fox's No. 2 NFL play-by-play man.

With his SNY contract expiring, Burkhardt is expected to expand his duties at Fox.

SNY president Steve Raab spoke to Newsday about the end of the Burkhardt era during last week's Bloomberg Sports Business Summit in Manhattan.

"Of course we're sorry to see Kevin move on, but at the same time we're really proud after eight years, and how I think Kevin has been able to develop and what he's meant to the network and hopefully what the network has meant to him," Raab said. "If you told me I could sign up for the same scenario with the next person, who wouldn't do that in a heartbeat?

"So I think this is just a case of a great run for everybody involved and great for him. We are in the business of developing talent, whether it be in front of the camera or behind the camera. I don't think he's the only example, but he's certainly the most visible example of what's developed at SNY.

"If we sat down one day, we should think about how many people we have who have gone on to, I am not going to say 'better things,' but sort of the next step in their careers," Raab said. "Sometimes we can give it to them internally, sometimes we can't or the timing doesn't allow us."