How my passion for the Yankees led me to become a John Sterling fan
From the first time I heard it, that call of: “Theeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!” always caught my attention, the extravagant cry that has accompanied every victory of my favorite team, the New York Yankees, for the last 36 years.
The first time I heard that victory cry was in the early 2000s, when the Yankee dynasty defeated the D-Backs with Derek Jeter's sensational walk-off home run against Byung-Hyun Kim in the tenth inning of the Game 4 of the World Series. Actually, I had no idea who was the announcer of that deep, enthusiastic and cheerful voice that called the Yankees games. In Cuba we didn't have enough internet access to discover it either, so it was practically impossible to answer my doubts.
Some years later, without forgetting that legendary call in each Yankee victory, my friend Ramón Rodríguez invited me to see a documentary from 2000 titled “All Century Team.” There I heard the flashy home run calls again, a different one for each Yankee batter, but I didn't really know if it was the radio or television color descriptor.
My friend Ramón assured me that it was Michael Kay. We thought so.
If you don't live in Cuba, my experiences will sound quite strange to you, but MLB games are not broadcast on Cuban national television. So, for years, that iconic voice echoed through my treasured Yankee memories, until I finally figured out who it was. Yes, of course, it was John Sterling, who called Yankee games for 36 seasons, from 1989 (the year I was born) until last Monday. Sterling, 85, retired effective immediately after more than three decades in the cockpit, the Yankees said in a statement Monday.
The Yankees and Sterling made the announcement after The Athletic reported on a news conference planned for this weekend in which Sterling was anticipated to retire, citing health concerns. Sterling has been a broadcaster for 64 years, and holds the record for calling 5,060 consecutive Yankees games from 1989 to 2019. Six seasons ago, one before Sterling took a break after 30 consecutive years of calling games, I started listening to the Yankees games live.
I don't know how many Yankees fans follow WFAN from Havana, Cuba, but I've been one of them. Until 2023, radio broadcasts could be listened to without having to install a VPN. Of course, the first reason to make this happen is if you are a Yankees fan. And I've always been a Yankees fan! So I installed an App called “Audials Play” on my phone to listen to the games live. Audials Play is fantastic, because at the same time it also allows me to listen to other stations that broadcast MLB games. And since in Cuba it is almost impossible to watch MLB games online, since national television does not broadcast them, then at least I was content to listen to them.
It was really fun for me.
I love the pairing of Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. I love it, even though I can't understand all his sentences in English, the nice rhythm of his voices always captivated me. Since 2005, Waldman has been a pioneer for female sports commentators of color, working for New York Yankees baseball. The Audials Play App also gave me the ability to record Sterling and Suzyn's broadcasts, which further helped me become familiar with their work.
I still have a folder of Sterling home run calls, how Suzyn would announce Sterling's entrance into the microphone, and then he would respond politely: “Well, Suzyn, I thank you.” Now, as I write, I am smiling, because among my Yankee fan friends in Cuba, I was the first to discover why we heard this call with every Giancarlo Stanton home run: “A STANTONIAN home run! Giancarlo! I can't stop it!”
When I discovered it, I put that phrase in my WhatsApp status and shared it with my wife Ruth. A couple of friends wrote to me asking what it meant. Then I explained to them where the phrase came from, and they instantly remembered how familiar it was. My wife Ruth also became a fan of the couple Sterling & Suzyn, and she loved how clearly their voices and every description came through. In fact, when there were power outages in our neighborhood, we used the App to find out about Yankees games.
The same thing happened with Aaron Judge’s home run calls: “All Rise! Here Comes the JUDGE! Aaron: Judge and Jury on that home run!” And so, we also waited for Sterling's next home run calls when the Yankees signed a new player.
Aaron Judge said several times “that he was among Sterling's many admirers.” He smiled when Sterling hit the first home run of his career in his first major league game on August 13, 2016 at Yankee Stadium. Judge said “his parents, Wayne and Patty, love listening to Sterling on the radio. They were present for his first home run, but Wayne played Sterling’s blowout call ‘over and over’ on YouTube that night.”
“It's hard to put into words what John has meant to Yankee baseball across the country and to broadcasting,” Judge told the YES Network after Tuesday's game.
I have been a Yankees fan of the '90s generation, ever since Sterling's legendary voice became an unmistakable icon. Hearing that he won't be in the booth anymore, that his authentic home run calls won't be played again really made me a little nostalgic. I think I would have liked to listen to it a little longer, but living in Cuba, that wish was practically impossible to achieve. Anyway, I tried while I could. And I think I enjoyed it a lot.
Sterling leaves with a resume that includes calling games on five Yankees World Series titles and two perfect games. He called 5,420 Yankees regular-season games, including 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 to July 2019. He also called 211 postseason games. And that's just with the Yankees. Sterling spent 64 years in broadcasting, including stints calling games for the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Braves.
Sterling has four children, including three who recently graduated from college.
“If you think about it,” Waldman said, “you get to a certain age and he deserves to enjoy the rest of his life. He has a daughter who will walk down the aisle in a year.”
She was delighted that Sterling could go out on his terms.
“I think the worst thing that can happen to you is someone saying, 'Enough is enough,'” Waldman said. “'You can't do it anymore.' I think this is the best way out: make the decision on your own, be very clear and be happy about it. He knows what he has done in this industry.”
If you're not a Yankees fan, you obviously won't feel that connection. Justin Shackil will likely be Sterling's replacement to call most of the games for the time being, although WFAN revealed that they have not yet decided who would take the full-time role. I listened to Shackil when he filled in for Sterling in Yankees road games last year. I really loved his work. But of course I missed Sterling every road game. And now that his retirement will be a fact, I think Yankees fans will feel a lot of nostalgia.
We will definitely miss him even more.
Oh my goodness! This is why reading Yirsandy Rodriguez is so important for all baseball fans everywhere. Here I sit in the middle of the U.S., with all media easily available at my fingertips. And yet, it took my pal in Havana, writing a column about one of his favorite baseball play-by-play radio broadcasters, for me to get the news that the great John Sterling, the "Voice of the New York Yankees" for 36 years, retired on Monday of this week! I started listening occasionally to Sterling and his sidekick commentator Suzyn Waldman 15 or so years ago. I was intrigued by their work -- how smart, well-informed and stylish they seemed -- and then I learned that both had theatrical work in their backgrounds. Like Yirsandy, I've loved the special touches that Sterling and Waldman have brought to their broadcasts. I grew up in Iowa listening to Major League Baseball on radio, and to this day, I think that there is special magic about following games on radio as opposed to TV. The radio broadcasters lead you into using your imagination about how they are describing the action and the atmosphere in those far-away ballparks. And I think the team of Sterling and Waldman have been among the best at that. They are sophisticated, maybe even erudite, and seem perfect in their roles as radio broadcasters of the by-God New York Yankees! And they are fun! I love knowing that among the thousands -- more likely millions -- of baseball fans they have inspired is Yirsandy Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba, whose life and circumstances are almost totally different from the lives and circumstances of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Baseball is a great "connector," you know?