Legendary New York Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling is retiring from the broadcast booth effective immediately, the club announced on Monday.
Sterling, 85, will be honored in an April 20 pregame ceremony before the team’s game against the Rays at Yankee Stadium. “I am a very blessed human being,” Sterling said in a statement release by the club. “I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It’s all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy. I look forward to seeing everyone again on Saturday.”
The Yankees also released the following:
“Fans find a certain comfort in the daily rhythms of baseball. Day in and day out, season after season, and city after city, John Sterling used his seat in the broadcast booth to bring Yankees fans the heartbeat of the game, employing an orotund voice and colorful personality that were distinctly, unmistakably his own. John informed and entertained, and he exemplified what it means to be a New Yorker with an unapologetic and boisterous style that exuded his passion for baseball, broadcasting and the New York Yankees.
“There is no shortage of adjectives to describe John and what he means to this organization and our millions of fans around the world. But what makes John a goliath of the sports broadcasting world was how sacred he held his role as voice of the Yankees. Showing up to perform virtually every single day since 1989, he was a pillar for Yankees fans who relied on the comfort and familiarity of his voice to be the soundtrack of their spring, summer and fall. Given the tremendous care he had for the team and his performance on the air, it’s not a stretch to believe that our fans live and die with every pitch because John Sterling did the same.
“We congratulate John on a remarkable and illustrious career. His contributions to this great game and to the Yankees franchise will echo long into the future.”
And WFAN, home to Sterling’s Yankees broadcasts, also made the following statement:
“Yankees radio will never quite sound the same without the signature voice, wit and humor of John Sterling. To generations of Bronx Bombers fans, he was a beloved companion that when you heard John, you knew it was time for baseball. Though he never wore the pinstripes, except of course for his fine tailored suits, he was one of the most colorful personalities in Yankees history and in all of New York City radio. All of us at WFAN tip our cap and salute our colleague and friend on a truly iconic career.”
A native of New York City, Sterling is in his 36th season as a Yankees broadcaster, and overall he’s been in the broadcasting industry for more than six decades. At one point in his Bronx tenure, Sterling called more than 5,000 consecutive Yankees games. Best known for his pun-driven home run calls, Sterling is perhaps most closely associated with the great Yankees teams of the 1990s and early 2000s that featured personalities like Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, and manager Joe Torre.
Sterling was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
