NYC Radio: WFAN Lines Up Pinch-Hitters For John Sterling

Last week was a whirlwind week NY Yankees radio voice John Sterling.

• On Monday, The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reported “Legendary Yankees radio play-by-player John Sterling will miss 25-30 road games in the second half of the season as he, the team and its flagship station, WFAN, manage his schedule.”
• On Tuesday, Sterling said he’s not being forced out.
• On Wednesday, minor-league broadcaster Joey Zanaboni, who calls Single-A games for the Fredericksburg Nationals, made his pitch for replacing Sterling.

Now, NJ.com reports Sterling’s time away from the mic is coming sooner than expected. Per WFAN:

Justin Shackil will call the Yankees’ series in Toronto June 17-19, and our own Rickie Ricardo will slide over from the Spanish broadcast to sit alongside Suzyn Waldman in Tampa from June 20-22.

Shackil and Ricardo reportedly are on the initial short list of candidates to fill in for Sterling, as was YES/ESPN’s Ryan Ruocco. The NY Posr also reported WFAN has “thrown around the idea of radio analyst Suzyn Waldman maybe moving over to call a game or two, according to sources. ... The Waldman on play-by-play scenario, while possible, seemed as if it was the least likely.”

WFAN has considered former reliever Jeff Nelson to call a Yankees game or two as a play-by-player in place of John Sterling, according to sources.

Sterling still will hit the road for games at Fenway Park (vs. the Boston Red Sox), Camden Yards (vs. the Baltimore Orioles) and Citi Field (vs. the New York Mets).