“It is high, it is far, it is gone!” “The Yankees win, the YANKEES WIN!” A few of the legendary calls by John Sterling, which will be heard no more. Sterling made the decision to hang up the headset just about a week ago. He called his last game on April 7, 2024, a Yankees victory over the Blue Jays in Toronto.
He retires after a long career in broadcasting, which included 36 seasons behind the mic for the New York Yankees.
“I am a very blessed human being,” Sterling said in a release. “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.”
The 85-year-old called 5 Yankees’ World Series titles and a couple of perfect games. Sterling called nearly 5,500 games in the regular season and 211 post season contests. He previously called games for the Washington Bullets (now Wizards), for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and baseball’s Atlanta Braves, on TBS. But now that’s all over.
“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,” the Yankees said in a statement. “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.”
Comfort. The Yankees’ statement features that word very early in their praise of Sterling. If you’re a long-time listener to baseball or any sport on the radio, that’s what it is all about. The relationship the announcer establishes with his/her audience is what it’s all about. That’s where the comfort factor comes in.
“Especially on radio, you develop a bond with fans,” ABC/ESPN NBA play-by-play man Mike Breen told The New York Post. “You’re their eyes and ears.”
You also grow accustomed to them being there for you, the fan, day in and day out. As Breen points out, radio is where those relationships start. When your normal announcer isn’t there, it’s strange, almost like a substitute teacher is leading the class. The person that’s subbing, is perfectly qualified to be there, but it’s not the same. You miss some of the things you normally hear. Fans get to know their broadcasters through the intimacy of the medium. Most likely you’re listening in your car, heading home, or out to run errands, and that announcer is the person that helps you pass the time. It’s going to be a lot different for Yankees fans going forward.
The industry has changed so much since Sterling began his career. There are very few baseball teams that have one of those, ‘old school’ longtime announcers behind the mic. Only a handful are still calling games. Joe Castiglione of the Red Sox, Howie Rose with the Mets, Ken Korach the longtime voice of the A’s, Pat Hughes with the Cubs, Bob Uecker in Milwaukee and Jon Miller of the Giants are among them. More emphasis has been placed on television and streaming platforms over the last decade. It hasn’t lessened the importance of the radio broadcast in my opinion. Some teams don’t agree, one went as far as to simulcast the TV broadcast on radio for a while. Others mess around with the components in the booth in cost cutting moves. I think they are missing just how important radio still is to the fan.
As far as the Yankees situation, there’s no way to replace Sterling, and whoever takes over shouldn’t look at it that way if you are next in line. The new person is just sitting in the chair trying to continue the legacy of a great broadcast.
But how should you go about handling the role? The advice from Breen couldn’t be more on the ball, considering he took over Knicks broadcasts from Marv Albert.
“The key,” he told The Post, “is don’t change what got you here. Don’t ever try to be like Marv.
“You have to be your own person; there’s a reason I got the job, stick with that. Maybe hardest was this: Don’t try to win people over right away. You won’t win everyone over and that’s no reflection on you, some people just wish Marv was still doing the games.” Breen said. “Hell, I missed Marv doing the games!” he joked.
It’s a daunting task. Filling the shoes of an iconic voice is impossible to do. There will never be another John Sterling. He was unique and had his own way of calling games that resonated with a fan base. Afterall, his name and calls are associated with some of the biggest moments in the history of the franchise over the last nearly 40 years.
Stepping in to work the remainder of the season are two relatively familiar voices. Justin Shackil and Emmanuel Berbari. Both announcers have been with the club and WFAN, the team’s flagship station. Shackil joined WFAN on the Yankees beat last year after Sweeny Murti left. In addition to his work with the club’s radio broadcasts, Shackil also served as the TV sideline reporter for roughly 40 games in 2023. Berbari has served as an overnight host in a fill-in capacity at WFAN as well as the pre and postgame host for Yankees broadcasts after Murti’s departure.
It’s not clear yet, which way the Yankees will go. They can opt to keep Shackil and Berbari, or look outside for a more experienced voice. Afterall this is the Yankees job. Eventually there will be a new voice, or voices of the Yankees. Fans have a tendency to be a little hypercritical when it comes to new announcers. They have no issues expressing those thoughts on the various social media platforms. It’s unfair to compare. I’ve written in the past, that replacing a legend is not an easy thing to walk in and do. Given the enormity of the position, just like a young player, the announcer needs a little time to claim the position as theirs.
These days especially when teams are reaching into their minor league systems for young and I mean young announcers. Berbari is only 24-years-old. Chris Caray recently was named one of the television broadcasters for the A’s. He’s only 24 and has some baseball lineage. His father Chip works for the Cardinals, his grandfather was the legendary Skip Caray and his great-grandfather was Harry Caray. Pressure would seem to come with the name. But again, there needs to be some leeway given here. Chris is trying to develop his own style.
“I’m sure that he sounds a little bit like me and maybe he gets excited like I do during the calls, but ultimately he’s going to put his own stamp on it, which is how you have to do it.” Chip Caray told the Associated Press earlier this month.
Fans need to remember that Sterling was a new announcer at some point. I’m sure it wasn’t all smooth sailing at the beginning, but he was given a chance. As a result, Sterling became so associated with the team it will be hard to imagine him not being there anymore.
