On July 15th, news came out that former WFAN host Craig Carton would be sitting in with Suzyn Waldman calling the New York Yankees weekend series August 9th through August 11th. Several different play-by-play voices have filled in this year after John Sterling’s retirement in April and Carton’s name was a surprise to many when it came up. The reason for most of the bewilderment was due to the fact that Waldman had been the butt of many jokes from Carton in the past and it was widely known Waldman was not a fan of Carton’s schtick. Carton stopped in and talked with Sal Licata on WFAN and the subject of the games came up during the conversation.
“Have you talked to Suzyn yet?” Licata asked. “We’ve spoken, yes,” Carton answered before Licata pressed for more details. “I’ll be going there prior to the 9th to say hi in person, but we have spoken,” he said.
Asked how the conversation went, Carton said, “Great, very cordial. And it’s gonna be awesome. I can’t wait, I’m pumped for it.”
“I’m fascinated by this dynamic,” Licata said. “…It’s the number one thing that was on my mind…You obviously are a great talk show host and your personality is your strength. So, how do you interject your personality in a professional Yankees broadcast?”
“We’re trying to deliver play-by-play on the radio,” Carton said. “I view baseball play-by-play as two things. In one, there’s the action. There’s not a lot of it as compared to basketball, hockey, etc, right? Everything in between is like doing a talk show. So, I’m really confident in doing a talk show, and I have a co-host who also has talk radio chops, right? You know the first voice ever heard on FAN and I think, I hope, we’ll have fun together.”
Licata went in for more on the dynamic between Carton and Waldman working together. “Going back and forth, is it awkward for you at all being the one like for Suzyn, she’s been there. You were the one who was having fun at her expense over the years. So, was it awkward for you to have to be like ‘hey, I get that it’s radio and we’re entertaining here?’
“No, because we talked a couple weeks ago and it was very honest on both sides,” Carton said. “I wouldn’t take back what I did, for 10 years with Boomer in the morning, and if I said I would, I’d be lying, because I thought it was entertaining. I did what I thought was the most entertaining style of talk show you could do. And she had every right to be upset with that because it’s hurtful, right? I’ve also had a huge gulp of humble pie, self-inflicted of course and I can’t take it back. I don’t apologize for what I did, because I would have done it again. At the same time, I’m sensitive to the fact that your words can hurt also.
“So, look, she’s a pro, and that’s the agreement we have. She’s gonna be a pro, I’m gonna be a pro. Hopefully that’s a good time together going back and forth, and I don’t mess up any significant call of the game.”
“I hope you do,” Licata quipped.
