NYC Radio: MLB Yankees' Voice Ken Singleton To Retire

Ken Singleton

YES broadcaster and former Major Leaguer Ken Singleton announced in a tweet on Monday that the 2018 season will be his final campaign behind a microphone.

According to mlb.com, Singleton, 70, has worked Yankees games since 1997. He is the longest-tenured analyst in the YES Network's rotating cast of former players that includes David Cone, John Flaherty, Al Leiter and Paul O'Neill. Singleton also is a regular fill-in for Michael Kay on play-by-play duties.

A native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., just outside the Bronx, Singleton was the Mets' No. 3 overall pick in the 1967 January Draft and went on to play 15 seasons in the Majors, 10 of those seasons with the Orioles. He placed in the top 10 in league Most Valuable Player voting four times, including a second-place finish to Don Baylor of the Angels in 1979 after hitting a career-high 35 home runs.

Singleton was a three-time All-Star and led the Majors with a .425 on-base percentage in 1973 while with the Expos, who acquired him the year before in a trade that sent Rusty Staub to New York. Singleton finished his career with a .282/.388/.436 line and 246 career home runs. He helped the Orioles capture an American League pennant in '79 and a World Series title in '83.

LOOKOUT! 👀 This will be my final season of calling baseball games. I’ve been playing or talking baseball ever since I was 4 years old. It’s time for this enjoyable ride to end. Thanks fans for allowing me into your homes & businesses. It’s been my pleasure. #Thisoneisgone

— Ken Singleton (@29alltime) March 12, 2018

Kay said he is trying to convince Singleton, whose broadcasting career also includes working Expos games for The Sports Network (TSN) from 1985-96, to stick around the booth.

"I'm finding this hard to accept," Kay wrote on Twitter after Singleton's announcement. "I've known about it for a while but I've been trying to change his mind. I'm not giving up in my quest. Twitterverse, please tell Kenny he should not step away following season. Too much more to give!"