For almost 40 years, John Sterling has been the voice of the Yankees. A voice recognized across the tri-state area, Sterling was more than an announcer: he was a storyteller. His mere presence was comforting to people, both to fans over the radio and to those who knew him personally. John Sterling was truly a bright light amidst the chaos of people’s everyday lives.
Though synonymous with consistency, Sterling’s early career was nomadic. He started off calling games for the then Baltimore Bullets in 1970 before migrating north to cover a cadre of teams, notably the New York Islanders and New Jersey Nets. At the start of the 80s, Sterling traveled south to become the voice of the Atlanta Hawks and Braves.
Finally, Sterling made his way back to New York, where he became the on-air voice of the Yankees in 1989 and the icon so many people remember as the soundtrack to their childhood. Sterling became synonymous with the Yankee organization, hosting 11 years of the show Yankeeography, for which he won two Emmys, and often being the speaker for on-field ceremonies like Old Timers’ Day, number retirements, and more. He went on to call 5,651 Yankee games (including postseason) and had an Iron-Man-esque 5,060 straight games called from 1989-2019.
And yet, despite all of that, Sterling is mostly remembered for his on-air idioms and personalized home run calls for players. The calls showed his true passion for announcing and his love for the game that his life revolved around. Some notable calls include: “It’s an A-bomb for A-Rod!” (Alex Rodriguez), “A Stantonian home run!” (Giancarlo Stanton), and “Like a good Gleyber, Torres is there!” (Gleyber Torres). Sterling brought his youthful joy to the ballpark every day for years, particularly after a win to which he would exclaim, “Yankees win! Theeeeee, Yankees win!” while shaking his arms emphatically.
Perhaps his most memorable saying would come after a back-and-forth with his longtime broadcast partner, Suzyn Waldman. Waldman, the color commentator to Sterling’s play-by-play, would often describe an interesting or downright weird play in more detail, to which Sterling would respond, “That’s baseball, Suzyn.” The phrase became a staple of his career and came to symbolize more than just baseball but life in general. Baseball is a unique game; any day at the ballfield could be met with a new, never-before-seen experience- Sterling encapsulated this in three words. He could tell you a novel’s worth of information in ten seconds- that was who he was.
Sterling will be missed by fans of the game, but his voice will forever remain in our hearts. There is a poignant irony in “That’s baseball, Suzyn.” He describes baseball’s volatility, while he himself was one sure thing the fans could count on. For nearly 4 decades in the Bronx, John Sterling was a constant, a paperweight if you will, in an ever-changing city. His consistency gave people comfort and caused many to think back on his time with great fondness.
That’s baseball, John. And it was better because you were a part of it.