Yankees Win, Theeeeeeeeee Yankees Win!

The summer between my junior and senior years of college, I went down to Baltimore for a Yankees-Orioles series.  Mr. Jim was gracious enough to get me a press credential for two of the games.  I majored in communications and wanted to get into broadcasting, so, on Friday night, as we're having dinner in the press box, he says hello to John Sterling and asks him if he'd be OK with me sitting in the Yankees radio booth that night...to which he agreed.

Towards the end of the game, the producer, who I'd been sitting next to the entire time, takes a look at my credential and I can tell he's upset about something.  I figured I'd worn out my welcome, so I was politely gonna just slip out of the booth.  As it turns out, that wasn't the case at all.  He was upset because he wanted me to go down to the field, but I couldn't since I didn't have field access.

He tracked down one of the Yankees' PR people, who escorted me down to the field so that I could bring a microphone down for them to do a postgame interview with the player of the game.  The player of the game in this case was Aaron Boone (yes, the same Aaron Boone who's currently the team's manager).  After the interview was over, my route back to the press box was through the Yankee clubhouse, as the players and coaches started filing in.  The first person I see?  Don Zimmer.

Needless to say, it was pretty cool.  And, as you can tell, I remember it fondly 20 years later.  Perhaps the most memorable part of the experience was John Sterling's kindness and graciousness.  He was so kind and gracious that I wrote him a letter afterwards thanking him.  He responded, sending the letter back to me with a note from him attached.

That's my John Sterling story.  So many others have their own.  His voice was the soundtrack of Yankees games for generations of fans.  Everyone has their favorite home run call (I loved "Bern Baby Bern" and "An A-Bomb From A-Rod"), and, depending on your fandom, you either absolutely loved it or were incredibly irritated by it when he capped the broadcast with his drawn out "Yankees Win, Theeeeeeeeee Yankees Win!"

Well, we've heard that signature call for the last time.  Because Sterling has announced his retirement, effective immediately, ending a 36-year run in the Yankees radio booth.  His last game (and his last "Yankees Win, Theeeeeeeeeeeee Yankees Win!") was last Sunday's victory over Toronto.

While the team didn't release any information other than their statement saying Sterling was retiring, the general consensus is that it was for health reasons.  Sterling turns 86 years old on the 4th of July and, after an incredible ironman streak, all of the travel definitely took a toll on him.  As a result, he's been phasing himself out, working a reduced schedule for the past few seasons.  Still, Sterling didn't give any indication he was thinking about retirement until Monday's announcement.

Which is why I think the decision to retire immediately has to be health-related.  When Vin Scully decided to hang it up, he announced it well in advance and was given a bit of a farewell tour.  Sterling would've been given the same had he announced that this would be his final season, especially this early.  Instead, he'll be honored at Yankee Stadium on Saturday before riding off into the sunset (although, I'd imagine they'll probably ask him to still come back to emcee Old Timer's Day).

Every generation of Yankees fans has had that voice narrating an era of the team's history for them.  From Mel Allen and Red Barber to Phil Rizzuto, Bill White and Bobby Murcer to John Sterling and Michael Kay, then Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.  There have been so many memorable Yankees moments over the past 36 years.  John Sterling was behind the mic for almost all of them.

After joining the Yankees in 1989, Sterling had an incredible streak of 5,060 consecutive games broadcast (regular season and playoffs) before missing a series in Tampa due to illness in July 2019.  Overall, Sterling called a total of 5,420 regular season and 211 postseason games over 36 seasons.  Once that ironman streak ended, he cut back his load, limiting himself to home games and shorter road trips (Boston, Philadelphia, Citi Field) in recent years.

Even then, he was a trooper.  Last season, Justin Turner of the Red Sox hit a foul ball into the Yankees' radio booth, and it hit Sterling in the head!  There was even an audible "Ow!" on the broadcast.  Sterling didn't miss a beat and called the rest of the game with a huge bandage on his head.  Turner signed the ball and sent it back to him the next day with a band-aid on it!

You know how beloved he is amongst Yankee fans not just because everybody has a John Sterling impression, but by the fact that anytime there's some sort of John Sterling promotional item, it's one of the most popular giveaway days at Yankee Stadium.  Every line extended around the block well before the gates opened.  Because everyone wanted to make sure they got their John & Suzyn bobblehead and t-shirt.

And let's not forget those individualized home run calls for every Yankees player.  It was always so much fun whenever they got somebody new to hear what he'd come up with for their first home run.  The wait was sometimes agonizing.  We just wanted to know!  Fortunately, two of the newest Yankees--Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo--both hit home runs on the opening road trip (that Sterling called), which got them calls.  Soto's was "There is a Soto photo...He's Juan-derful, he's marvelous," while Verdugo got "Alexander the Great."

I must admit that even though it's become a more regular occurrence in recent seasons, I'd still get thrown off when I'd be in my car, put the Yankee game on the radio, and not hear those home run calls.  John Sterling has been a fixture in that booth for so long that you notice when he isn't there.  Well, now he won't be.  That role instead belongs to Justin Shackil and Emmanuel Berbari, who are both young and will have a chance to forge their own legacy as the Yankees' longtime radio voice.  But, even they'll be the first to admit that they've got big shoes to fill.