NYC Radio: John Sterling Retires As Lead Voice Of The NY Yankees

John Sterling will retire immediately as the lead radio voice of the Yankees, the team announced Monday.

Newsdaye reports Sterling, 85, has had health challenges in recent years, including early this season, and has cut back severely on his schedule on WFAN, especially for road games.

The Yankees will hold an on-field ceremony for Sterling at Saturday's game at the Stadium against the Tampa Bay Rays.

“Fans find a certain comfort in the daily rhythms of baseball," the Yankees said in the news release. 

"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. 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."

Sterling has held the job since 1989 and called 5,420 regular-season games and 211 postseason games for the Yankees.

“I am a very blessed human being," Sterling said in the news 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. I look forward to seeing everyone again on Saturday.”

Justin Shackil and Emmanuel Berbari have been filling in for Sterling alongside Suzyn Waldman and presumably would continue to do so for the rest of the season if he leaves.

Sterling had not missed a game since 1989 before he skipped some in 2019.

Sterling went on the Yankees’ first road trip this season, to Houston and Arizona, but mostly has restricted himself to home games and short road trips.

His signature home run calls and off-beat style have been a staple of Yankees broadcasts across multiple generations of fans.

Chris Oliviero, market president for Audacy’s New York stations, including WFAN, told Newsday last month, “We all recognize reality, and at some point, my phone's going to ring and it's going to be John and he's going to be like, ‘No mas; I'm done.’ ”

That reality arrived Monday.

"Yankees radio will never quite sound the same without the signature voice, wit and humor of John Sterling," WFAN said in a statement. "To generations of Bronx Bombers fans, he was a beloved companion that when you heard John, you knew it was time for baseball. Though he never wore the pinstripes, except of course for his fine tailored suits, he was one of the most colorful personalities in Yankees history and in all of New York City radio. All of us at WFAN tip our cap and salute our colleague and friend on a truly iconic career.”