The Yankees bid a fitting farewell to their venerable voice of 36 years, sending John Sterling off into retirement with a pregame ceremony featuring franchise greats whose careers he narrated for so long.
A sunny Saturday in the Bronx marked the end of an era as the longtime WFAN play-by-play announcer, accompanied by his four children, stood on the Yankee insignia behind home plate.
Chants of “Jo-hn Ster-ling” echoed through Yankee Stadium after a tribute video featuring Sterling’s high-energy calls of home runs, perfect games and World Series victories set the tone for the afternoon.
“Baseball will be a little different to Yankee fans, because your voice will not be there,” Paul O’Neill said in a pre-recorded video that aired on the Yankee Stadium jumbotron.
“I was glad that I was the first for his famous home run calls,” Bernie Williams said in a subsequent clip.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure listening to you all these years,” added Derek Jeter. “It was an honor to work alongside you for 20. You called so many special moments in my career and memorable moments for so many other players.”
Saturday’s ceremony came five days after Sterling, 85, announced his retirement as the Yankees’ radio voice, ending a prolific tenure in which he called 5,631 games, including 5,060 consecutively between his first season in 1989 and 2019.
Sterling, a native of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, announced every at-bat of Jeter’s career and every inning that Mariano Rivera pitched. He called five World Series, including four with Michael Kay, whom he worked with for 10 years, and another with Suzyn Waldman, his broadcast partner for the past 20.
He was known for his personalized home runs calls, beginning with Williams’ “Bern, baby Bern,” and more recently featuring Aaron Judge’s “All rise! Here comes the Judge!”
Overall, Sterling worked as a broadcaster for 64 years, including stints calling the Nets, the Islanders, the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks.
“John — you changed my life,” declared one fan’s poster.
“It is high. It is far. It is gone. John Sterling, your career was a home run,” read another, referencing Sterling’s trademark home run verbiage.
The on-field festivities also included Tino Martinez handing Sterling a pair of sterling silver Yankees cufflinks; the Steinbrenners gifting him a custom jersey featuring the No. 5,631 in honor of his game total; and Kay and Waldman giving him a silver microphone commemorating his career.
The Yankees also gave him an 83-inch TV in order to watch games during retirement.
“Person after person, group after group, have come to me with kindness, respect and love,” Sterling told the Yankee Stadium crowd toward the end of the ceremony. “How lucky can you be?”
Before the pregame celebration, Sterling held a spirited press conference, where he reflected in his own boisterous style on a career that began on Feb. 1, 1960.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways:
On how he came up with his personalized home run calls:
“It wasn’t meant that way. I just happened to do something for Bernie Williams. He hit a home run and I said, ‘Bern, baby, Bern,’ and it kind of mushroomed from there. But it never was intended for every player.”
On his favorite home run call:
“I did say, ‘An a-bomb from A-Rod,’ when he hit a home run, and I did say, ‘Robbie Cano, don’t ya know?’ I think those are pretty good.”
On why it’s time to retire:
“I retired because I just can’t do it,” Sterling said. “I can do the games. The games are easy, and working with Suzyn is a lark, but I just don’t have the strength and stamina.”
“We went on that long trip,” he later added. “We went to Houston and Arizona, and I knew that was it. I didn’t want to work every day. … If you work 64 years, and on your next birthday you’re going to be 86, I think it’s time.”
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On what he’ll do now:
“I’m going to watch and listen to all the Yankee games, all the Met games, all the games on Turner and ESPN and on MLB, and of course, as you know, the basketball and hockey playoffs are beginning. I have to watch those. I’m a very busy person.”
On if he’ll miss calling games:
“I don’t think so. I’m gonna love watching and listening. I really am. I really know what I’m going to do, and I’m going to enjoy it. I have the best apartment I’ve ever had, across the river in Edgewater, [N.J.]. I have a beautiful apartment that overlooks the Hudson. I love living there. I had a fella from Sony put in screens for me. He put in five screens, including two in my bedroom. I’m a very lazy person. I’m not gonna leave.”
Content with retirement and shying from praise, John Sterling reflects on his illustrious career
On when his radio broadcasting dreams began:
“The radio was on … and this guy with a great voice said, ‘Live from Hollywood, it’s The Eddie Bracken Show!’ … I didn’t want to be Eddie Bracken. I wanted to be the guy who said, ‘Live from Hollywood!’ I knew maybe a year or two later, but before puberty, I knew I was going to be on the air. It really helped me, because I didn’t worry about school because I knew what I was going to do.”
On how he wants to be remembered:
“They can remember me any way they want,” Sterling said. “I hope that people who like it will remember that they like it.”
