When John Sterling retired as the Yankees radio voice just a few games into this season, it came as a shock to the fan base that adored him during his long run as ‘The Voice of the Yankees’. After all, he was the soundtrack for five Yankees World Series titles (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009) and countless other great moments.
After his ‘retirement’, John did return to the booth to do a couple of innings for a game on a night when the Yankees gave out ‘John and Suzyn’ t-shirts commemorating the long-time broadcast team of Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.
But John Sterling deserved a better ending to his career than just a handful of games at the start of the season and a cameo appearance during a game. The storybook ending would have been John calling another Yankees World Championship and now that could happen because Audacy-owned WFAN brought Sterling back for the final six regular season games, and he’ll do all of the playoff games to close out his great career.
“It certainly is very exciting,” said Sterling. “Getting back this week has been fun. I love working with Suzyn (Waldman), so it was great working with her again. I certainly missed doing the games with her. Working together as a team and bringing a product out…over the years and don’t forget 20 years is a long time…a lot of games baby.”
After Sterling retired early in the season, WFAN and the Yankees turned to Justin Shackil, Emmanuel Berbari, Rickie Ricardo, Brendan Burke and Craig Carton to fill the void for this season before making a decision on a full-time voice for 2025 and beyond.
Sterling liked what he heard from those who had the tough task of filling his shoes.
“I thought they all did a terrific job filling in,” said Sterling. “I loved it. I congratulate them. I think they did a good job…a really good job.”
The question then became…who would get to do the playoff games?
Would one of them do all of the games?
Would they rotate through games and series?
But Audacy New York Market Manager Chris Oliviero decided on something else. He gave Sterling a call to see if maybe he wanted to return and have a chance for a fairy tale ending.
“(He) called me and said, ‘how would you like to come back for maybe the last week and then the playoffs?’ said the 86-year-old Sterling. “I took a couple of days…the games are the easiest I do by far. I’m sitting down. I have a great partner. It’s so easy. Everything else is tough.”
For the Yankees and their fans, having Sterling call another Yankees World Series title to close out his career would be epic, but whenever the final pitch is thrown, Sterling is not ready to put away his microphone. Sterling began his broadcasting career on February 1st, 1960, so he is approaching a very important milestone, and it sounds like the wheels are in motion for him to reach it.
“I’m going to, at the end of the playoffs, attempt to land a one day a week talk show in New York,” said Sterling. “If I can carry it to February…February 1st will mark my 65th year on the air. Boy, that’s a lot of time on the air. I hope that happens.”
The Yankees finished the regular season with a record of 94-68 capturing the American League East title and the number one seed in the American League playoffs. The Bombers will now wait to see who they will play in the American League Division Series starting on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.
Sterling spent most of the season watching the Yankees on television and listening to games on the radio and he certainly, for the most part, liked what he saw…especially from a couple of players.
“(Aaron) Judge and (Juan) Soto,” said Sterling. “They’ve been fabulous.”
So, has it crept into John Sterling’s mind what it would be like to be at the microphone for another Yankees World Championship?
“It sure has,” said Sterling. “It would be very exciting. Who wouldn’t hope for that? As the games go on, one by one, it gets more exciting. At the end would be Yankees win…the Yankees win! I hope that happens.”
And so does every single New York Yankees fan who has adored him and his enthusiastic style for so many years.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
