The Seattle Mariners organization frequently leads Major League Baseball in total miles traveled every season due to its location in the Pacific Northwest. Dave Sims, the longtime play-by-play voice of the team, understands the lack of proximity to other cities and three-hour time difference having been situated on the West Coast for almost two decades. Although he has an earnest avidity and appreciation for the Emerald City, he tries to make the most of his time in New York City.
While he was in the region this past May, Sims took off for the team’s three games in Baltimore and met with Audacy New York market president Chris Oliviero. One month earlier, longtime New York Yankees radio play-by-play announcer John Sterling had retired from the booth following a 36-year tenure in the position.
Although Sterling eventually returned to call the final six regular-season games and subsequent postseason play, Audacy and the Yankees were in the process of determining who would fill the role for the 2025 season and beyond. As a rotation of announcers filled in throughout the year, Sims was interested in having a chance to serve as the new radio voice for the franchise and documenting its peerless run of sustained success.
“I said just given the situation, and previous encounters I’ve had with people with the Yankee organization [and] with FAN, I said it was the perfect situation for me and a perfect situation for them,” Sims explained. “Suzyn [Waldman] and I are friends. She gave me her full endorsement, and I just took it from there and it all came together, and here I am.”
Sims was officially announced as the new radio voice of the Yankees last month, agreeing to a deal to call games for the 27-time World Series champions. As a preeminent sports franchise within the sports world at large, he is excited to return home and call monumental moments featuring stars such as Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Even though some people labeled the decision to depart Seattle as a no-brainer, Sims was not under contract for next season and valued potentially returning to WFAN, where he had hosted at the station during its formative years pioneering the sports talk format.
“I had blessings,” Sims divulged. “The Mariners have been spectacular. Kevin Martinez, the president of baseball ops…. He’s from the area. He says, ‘If they make the right offer, you got to go and with our blessing, and we’re rooting for you. And if the offer’s not any good and you want to [stay] here, you got a spot here.’ I thought we had a very good, frank discussion, and they were very amicable. The people have been fantastic in the organization.”
Sims understands the prestige associated with the position he is assuming and is able to recall the lineage of those who have occupied the distinct responsibility. Sterling, an award-winning broadcaster and beloved figure in Yankees history, was popular with the fans for his encyclopedic baseball knowledge, orotund delivery and inimitable calls for home runs and wins. A few weeks ago, Sims saw Sterling at a dinner where they exchanged pleasantries and discussed their families, first meeting each other while covering the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association in 1967.
In the new role, Sims becomes part of a lineage of radio broadcasters that includes Frank Messer, Phil Rizzuto, Mel Allen and Red Barber. Rather than trying to replicate a particular cadence, Sims is going to bring his own style and mannerisms to the job while honoring tradition. At the same time, he will adopt elements of other broadcasters to his overall approach, including former radio sportscaster Marty Glickman.
“I’m not trying to imitate anybody – that’s not in play,” Sims said. “I have learned things from Marty that I’ve tailored for me and how I do things. There’s some fundamentals you stick to, but you’ll hear me. You’re not going to hear me imitate John – no way – and nobody wants to hear that, and that wouldn’t even be fair to ask somebody to do that.”
This is not the first time Sims is succeeding a distinguished broadcaster closely associated with a professional baseball team. When he first arrived in Seattle ahead of the 2007 season, he worked on radio for three innings as an analyst with Rick Rizzs before moving to television to pair with Dave Niehaus for the remainder of the game.
This arrangement continued for the next four years, but things suddenly changed when Niehaus passed away after suffering a heart attack during the offseason. The news devastated Mariners fans and the baseball community, many of whom had grown up with Niehaus serving as an integral part of the summertime, and longtime listeners gathered at the ballpark that December to commemorate his life.
“It wasn’t like, ‘Dave’s gone, now you get to replace him’ but it was a process where people had to get used to me, and each telecast would have a different vibe,” Sims said. “I just know I’m a lot different from Dave. At that point, he was very avuncular, a grandfather type, old-school guy [who] had great stories, and he was a presence there in Seattle that was amazing because, for the longest time, they did not have a big TV package, so people knew his voice on radio.”
Even though Sims has been a regional broadcaster in Seattle, he has maintained a steady presence in the New York metropolitan area through his national work. No matter the occasion, he treats every matchup with the deference and prestige of the World Series. Amid the 162-game season, he does not engage in overthinking and ultimately focuses on doing the job at the highest level. Harkening on his previous experience as a reporter with the New York Daily News, he is not intimidated by relocating his baseball responsibilities to the No. 1 designated market area.
“I’ve seen moments in every sport – football, baseball, basketball – and you cherish those kind of moments, you deliver and you go back and you get in the car, train or plane, and with a smile on your face, and get ready for the next one,” Sims emphasized. “It’s not a freak-out situation.”
Sims knows how to actualize comprehensive, credible storytelling under deadlines, an implicit connection to his authentic, real-time reactions as a broadcaster. Affirming that he was not born to be a chemist, Sims does not take any days for granted and exudes both professionalism and poise. In fact, his preparation for Opening Day has already commenced through a rigorous offseason program that involves observation, research and inquiry.
“I know most of the guys, but there’s a bunch of guys out of the bullpen that I’m not super familiar with, so I think that’s going to be the biggest thing,” Sims said. “And then go back and get on Baseball Reference and try to commit to memory, certainly, familiarity with a lot of things that happened to the Yankees this past season and not do anything to abuse my voice.”
In making the move to radio, Sims is focused on executing the dichotomy between the two mediums and demonstrating his expertise. Drawing off the philosophy taught by Glickman, he makes consistent references to the time and score in order to keep the audience informed and engaged. Remaining aware of nuances within the traditional paradigm, he will insert sabermetrics and other advanced statistics when appropriate. There will also be moments to weave in stories and engage in conveersation dictated by the flow of the game, building on congeniality fostered with Waldman over time.
“Instead of texting from 3,000 miles away, we’re going to be six feet apart,” Sims explained, “and we’ll be able to look each other in the eye and go back and forth on things, so this is going to be pretty special.”
Sims knows that he is going to bring energy to the Yankees broadcasts, which will include some of his signature calls that have become part of the baseball lexicon. For example, the inspiration for “Hey Now!” came when Frank Sinatra belted out the line to end his re-recording of “I’ve Got the World on a String.” Over the years, he has used the phraseology sparingly as a verbal exclamation point to encapsulate the gravitas of a moment.
“I say ‘Giddy up!’ because I was raised on Westerns on TV back in the ‘50s and ‘60s,” Sims explained. “‘He rings the bell!’ with a two-run homer, that kind of stuff. I don’t come in with a script, [and] I’m not choreographing anything. I just react to what I’m looking at.”
Even though he is no longer calling baseball on television, Sims understands the importance of the local broadcast. There have been instances where he has heard people muting the audio on their televisions and syncing their radio feeds up to the video. While Sims also broadcasts nationally, that gesture and the kind messages he has received validates his position and fosters a sense of belonging.
“The texts and the correspondences I’ve received in the last two weeks – almost three weeks – [have] been tremendous,” Sims said. “You know, ‘I listened to your calls in Seattle, and you’re now a part of our family and welcome,’ that has been extraordinary. It has been unbelievably touching.”
As Sims eagerly anticipates signing on the Yankees Radio Network for the first time, he hopes to refrain from adopting a frenetic pace that will misalign his thoughts and words. Rather than broadcasting at a proverbial New York minute, Sims will become more immersed in the natural flow of the game and seek to accurately depict an image in the mind of the listener. Through it all, he will give credence to the lore and beauty of the game and always remember that the person on the other side of the speaker may be listening for the very first time.
“I want to do my job, be the best I can and wherever the old chips [are] going to fall [is] wherever they’re going to fall,” Sims said. “What I have control over is doing a damn good job. Anything after that, I got no control over.”
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Derek Futterman is an associate editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
