After Yankees’ Announcer John Sterling Dies At 87, Tributes Flood In

Former New York Yankees radio announcer John Sterling has died at 87.

Sterling died from heart failure at a hospital in Englewood, New Jersey. He suffered a heart attack earlier this year.

WABC Radio hired Sterling before the 1989 season. In 1992, Michael Kay was hired by WABC to be the color commentator. Kay was hired by YES Network before the 2001 season, in part due to a glowing review from Sterling. Sterling always spoke highly of Kay. 

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“I thank my partner of 10 years, Michael Kay,” Sterling said during his farewell address in 2024.

In 2005, WABC hired Suzyn Waldman, who was the color commentator up until Sterling’s retirement. One of Sterling’s most iconic calls is “That’s baseball, Suzyn,” which he said whenever a player got a weak hit after a lineout. 

Sterling was known for giving players unique home run calls. Some notable examples include “an a-bomb, for A-Rod” for Alex Rodriguez, “Bern baby Bern” for Bernie Williams and “A thrilla for Godzilla” for Hideki Matsui. 

In 2013, Yankees radio, along with Sterling, moved to WFAN. This wouldn’t stop Sterling’s Iron Man streak, as he called 5,060 consecutive Yankees games from 1989 to 2019.

However, Sterling said travel became more difficult as he got older. In 2022, WFAN gave him a reduced schedule, which only had him traveling to a few stadiums close to his New Jersey home, such as Citi Field, Camden Yards and Fenway Park. 

Even with the reduced schedule, the travel continued to wear him down. He announced his retirement on April 15, 2024. He returned for the 2024 playoffs and officially retired after Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.

Several former and current Yankees paid tribute to Sterling on social media.

“It was an honor to have him call every one of my games during my career,” Derek Jeter said.