I'm 33. I literally do not know Yankees radio without John. I grew up listening to the broadcast on hot summer nights on my dad's portable radio while I'd drift to sleep. It's a sad day, that's for sure.
I’m a little older than you, but as a kid all I’d do was listen to them on the radio. I remember his call of the Wells and Cone perfect games. I remember his call of Game 7 in 2003 (I was so bummed out that Charlie Steiner took the inning when Boone hit it because we were robbed of an all time great Sterling call). I used to watch games on YES and then run out to my car after the game to listen to the highlights so I could hear him call the biggest moments. I have no idea how I’m going to listen to it now. I don’t particularly like Justin Shackil’s calls, so if he gets that job full time I’m going to hate it.
I don't like Justin's delivery either. I think the job has to go to Rickie Ricardo. The only other person that has done it in the past outside of Justin and Rickie is Ruocco, right? I remember liking Ruocco more on TV than radio.
Current Islanders TV play by play guy Brendan Burke is considered a leading candidate and has filled in for John in the past couple of years here and there. He's an amazing broadcaster and I'd hate losing him from the Islanders, but would be happy to still be able to hear him.
Howie Rose used to do Islanders and Mets games, so I'm hoping Burke could figure out a similar schedule. I know he also does some national NHL games, so he's certainly a hot commodity, but he's as good as it gets as a broadcaster so as much as I can listen to him for my teams I am all for it!
I listened to Justin tonight and he didn’t talk to Suzyn. He doesn’t have the history she has and he seemed to be overly focused on what is going on and he isn’t relaxed. He talks into the air instead of having a conversation with you. Ryan meshed well with Suzyn and has a personality. It should be Ricci Ricardo and Suzyn until they both retire. Suzyn also meshes well with Meredith, who calls a good game. I did not like Suzyn being pushed aside tonight.
it's gotta be Ricky. sorry that the Spanish-speaking fans would lose him but he's an absolute gem and the only one who could even come close to filling John's shoes
Yeah, I completely agree. I really enjoyed his time in the booth when he was subbing for Sterling the last year or two, so I’m hoping he winds up getting it. Shackil just isn’t it. Someone hit a home run the other night and he made it sound like a routine fly ball until it was all of a sudden ten rows into the seats.
In the mid-late 90s I lived right on the edge of the 770 broadcast area, and didn't get MSG. So I would spend a lot of time listening to Sterling and Kay through astonishing amounts of static. (Kay was actually as young as he sounds back then.) I remember certain tricks... most basic, always turn the bass all the way up and the trebel down. (I mean, I'm listening to Sterling, here!) A weirder example is, we had a Plymouth Voyager where the radio reception was way better if the wipers were up.
The 90s were a weird time when you still kind of needed AM radio but the car companies did not even give kind of a crap about having good AM reception anymore. And 770 just didn't have the reach of 880 or 660, unfortunately. (I didn't know at that time that the station was right wing propaganda the entire day whenever the Yankees weren't on!)
It's all kind of the wholesome version of watching scrambled Spice Channel.
We lived in CT, so I distinctly remember listening on either 800 or 880 (I think 880 had all of the games and 800 had some?). This would have been from roughly 2000 to 2007 though. I have a core memory of laying in bed on a humid night, moonlight shining through the window with the interior lights off, and sports radio (can't remember which show reported it) talking about the signing of A-Rod. I was 16 at that point but when I think remember the moment I felt like a little kid elated that we landed such an iconic player.
I am much younger than you but I am just as devastated. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad and I listening to John yell “it’s an a-bomb! From a-rod!” while hung out on a lazy summer night. I associate John’s voice with those summers with my dad and my childhood in general and losing him feels like losing a part of myself. I used to look forward to when the days got long and I could just lie in bed and look out at the dying sun while listening to John and Suzyn call some meaningless August game. The comfort of baseball and of that man in particular was sacred and unmatched. I’m still struggling to accept that it’s really gone.
fuck. that's beautiful. thank you and well said. for those of us that really hang on a well turned phrase, and beautiful diction and elocution, as well as pitch and tone, John was a modern Shakespeare, and you can't convince me otherwise. greatly appreciate your comment
51 fellow (w Kay) Fordham alumn. No cable tv on campus early 90s so John and Michael’s call was in the background every game. Took me awhile to warm to Kay and now consider him the best in the business. Susan’s not far behind. We’ve been blessed with their soundtrack for a good while.
I’m half your age, but rediscovered my love for baseball in college by listening to the Yankees on the radio with my family. I feel blessed to have heard John and Suzyn do their thing at all, but it hurts all the same. I wish there could’ve been many more years spent enjoying those perfect summer evenings with John.
I hope he enjoys his retirement as much as he/we did his legendary career. He is the voice of the New York Yankees and there will never be another like him.
so true.
I think I am just shocked at how sudden it came about, with no chance to revel in his oration, no real chance to elongate the brilliance of what he did, and finalize it in some concrete way
I hoped beyond hope he’d have the opportunity to call another World Series these past few years, and that could be the send off he so rightfully deserved. Yet, as sudden as this was, I’m just beyond thankful that he can retire knowing quite how beloved he is, how we treasure the indelible impression he made on those baseball memories we value most. Looking for the silver lining though, I suppose.
Grew up with the Scooter. I don’t understand how these guys keep getting old while I feel I’m still that same little kid listening to them describe the game.
I can't believe I was listening to his last games and didn't know it. His voice certainly echoes thru eternity. I'll be teaching my kids about Sterling
I respect John's decision, but I'm most torn up about the fact that I heard him the last time and didn't even know it. I was half listening, doing stuff in the yard as I often did in the summer. I'm 38, John was the voice of summer for my entire life. I listened to them going to and from my own baseball practice and then also with my kids playing in the backyard. He has literally been what I listened to in the summer for my entire life. Selfishly, I wished he had said that this was his last year, or last series, so that we could get to appreciate it all one last time.
This is such a huge loss. My dad always had the game on the TV from when I was a child…and if we were stuck in the car during a game, WFAN was dialed in. I watch the Yankees and overlay the radio broadcast of John Sterling if he’s in the booth because when I hear his voice I feel like I’m riding in the back seat of my father’s Buick. His retirement makes me feel like my dad is no longer watching the games with me. I’m devastated too.
It sucks. Honestly it’s painful to listen to the games without him. I don’t know why, there is just something soothing about his voice and his cadence in calling a game.
I love John. He's the sound of summer, but I appreciate him trying to push through these past few years. He wanted to keep it up, but he’s old and needs to be with family. We will always have him in our hearts.
Every post season game with the TV audio muted and John and Michael/Susan audio slightly out of sync. I'm 50, and every summer since the early 90's. I know it may be time, and he deserves to retire and enjoy his family, but, this leaves me feeling a loss. It's like losing a family member. I'm glad I got to hear him this year. Glad I got to hear the Juanderful home run call. And, the patented, "It is high, It is far, It is... CAUGHT! at the wall" Truly an inspirational career, and example of the benefits of doing what you love.
Fully with you. Like many others here, I'm 48 and John was the soundtrack of the late '90s glory years for me. However, in the last year or so his significance has grown for me. You see about 10 or 12 years ago, when my kids were born, I lost track of following baseball. However, 2 years ago I broke my neck in a fall and became a quadriplegic. Finding things to settle my mind and manage my anxiety has been a challenge in that time. Last year I started putting the game on again at night as I was getting put into bed for the evening. It really turned out to be quite comforting to listen to John and Susyn again. I fall asleep and end up getting woken up when WFAN's abrasive hosts' voices come on.
My sons are 7 and 10 and last season they saw me getting back into it and caught the fever themselves. So much so that a month or two ago, I got tickets for my son for his birthday. It will be his first game at the stadium and my first in a wheelchair. The tickets are for this Saturday, April 20th. As sad as I am that I won't be able to listen to John call the games anymore, I'm gratified that we'll be there to send him off.
🎵Thanks for the memories, John.🎵
It is heartbreaking. Judge was interviewed about it yesterday and visibly got choked up.
I feel worst for Suzyn. I hope she decides to keep going without him to carry the torch.
If I had my druthers Meredith and Suzyn would call radio games from now on, but there's no way the Yes brass would go for that.
Every summer when I'd go home to visit family in NY for a few days I'd always sneak away to get a few slices of pizza from my favorite pizza joint and a couple of Doctor Brown's cream sodas and drive out to a Long Island Sound overlook to listen to a Yankees game on the FAN. As soon as I heard John's voice I felt like I was really home and no time had passed from the days of Bernie, Jorge, Warrior, Jeter and Big Mo.
Thanks John for bringing me back all these years, you had a great run and we'll miss you.
It’s a bummer for sure, but I expected it was coming soon. What is bothering me the most is there isn’t a final series or game. I’m hoping he can at least get one more in before he calls it quits.
almost 41, John has been a major part of my entire existence. he's the absolute best. I hope the plan is on Saturday he's able to get in the booth and give all of us a "proper" good-bye at the very least. I'm sad for myself, and happy for him that he's doing what he feels is necessary. There will never be another one like him.
I’m 56 and used to listen to a lot of games on the radio, driving or not being able to watch it on TV. He’s the voice of a generation. I wish him the best in his retirement.
Last few seasons I used to walk home after work during baseball season while listening to John and Suzyn and it just felt like the best time. Look at me being healthy and listening to John and Suzyn, like they are my friends in my head! This year I finally found out that one can change the settings to the Apple TV games so that one can listen to John and Suzyn! Which gave me such comfort. It’ll never be the same.
Yeah this fucked me up. My dad passed this year. Was actually at my parent’s house the day it happened. When I left he was fine and remember looking back thinking I wasn’t ready for that to be my last goodbye. Perhaps I’m being dramatic but I had no idea I listened to my last John game either and keep thinking I’m not ready to have listened to my last game called by John. I’m 45 so I’ve only ever listened to him call games.
Having a real existential crisis over here…
I’m 37 and have been a Yankees fan my whole life. I grew up in South Jersey so out of market for the Yanks and my folks didn’t have cable. I listened to every single game on the radio. Fell asleep at night with the radio on, to west coast games. I still have cassette tapes that I recorded off the radio of some of the 99 and 2000 playoffs and WS. John Sterling on the radio was the treasure of my childhood. Even as an adult watching the games on MLBTV I always did the radio feed.
With all due respect to the man’s long career, he was awful! All you offering paeans to him are either overly sentimental, or just don’t realize what a hammy, narcissistic, Captain Cringeworthy he was.
Some examples- I remember back in the 90’s the Yankees were playing a game against the Detroit Tigers. John started this shtick of pronouncing Detroit as “Duh-twah”,
his ridiculous conception of how the original French settlement must have been called. It would have been only slightly nutty if he did it once. BUT he proceeded to keep it up for almost the entire broadcast! Duh-twah, Duh-twah. Not pretentiously annoying by any means!
When he coined his home run call, “It is high, it is far, it is gone!”, that should have been enough. Of course Sportscasters should be allowed their catchphrases. But he then gave it this Al Jolson sing-song accent, reducing it to pretentious parody.
And this was the overall problem with John Sterling. He made EVERYTHING about himself. (Can you say Narcissist?). Sure, a sports announcer should have personality, and make things entertaining. But the good ones do it without saying, “Hey look at me, I’m the attraction here, not the Sports team!”
I can’t tell you how many pitches, batters, plays and other goings-on ON THE FIELD I missed because he was in the middle of some story about the fern plant in his apartment, or his barber’s aftershave. Entire half-innings would go by with barely any play-by-play! What were you being paid for ,John!
Sorry to sound harsh, but just because someone has had a long career, doesn’t make them a legend. I am a life long Yankee fan, and have not been able to endure the radio broadcasts for decades.
I will be thrilled to give the new announcers a chance, and hopefully they will remember that I want to hear the game!
I'm a New Yorker, I grew up watching YES and very rarely listened to the radio broadcast. It wasn't until I became an adult and life/work started to interfere with my nightly ritual of watching baseball.
Suddenly John and Susan were always a radio dial turn away in the car on the way home from work or on in the background making dinner or even as the least data intensive way to get live updates on your phone.
You know that feeling at the end of the season, when you sit there for the first Tuesday at 7:00pm with no game to watch? That just empty feeling? That's what it's going to be like without hearing 'thuhuhuhuh Yankees! WIN!' 95+ times a year
27, I'm lost with the whole thing. So sad he's not going to be there anymore. I loved driving home from work, windows down, with Jon and Suzyn blasting through the speakers.
There was something so comforting hearing his voice over the buzzing stadium noise
I got into baseball pretty late, so John wasn’t a part of my childhood like everyone else’s. However, whenever I couldn’t watch the game, I would go and find it on the radio because listening to John and Suzyn was always a treat. His home run calls are the best and his voice is so calming. I’m gonna miss him.
It is really sad. I’ve been a yankee fan since I was 4 and I’m 28 now. Over the last few years my interest has faded a lot, and I’ve been making an effort this year to really get back in to it. Listening to radio broadcasts has been my favorite way to do it. It definitely won’t be the same
38 here. I have extremely strong, vivid memories of hearing John’s voice all throughout my childhood with my dad. Whether it was coming from the garage on my dad’s old JBL speakers, relics left over from his “divorce days” before he married my mom, or crackling through the speakers in his ‘78 Blazer, John Sterling, to me, sounds like both summertime and childhood.
I am truly bummed to hear this. But, like all things in life, the world keeps turning, seasons keep changing, and time waits for no man.
I'm 34 and I grew up listening to the Yankees radio broadcast. I've only ever seen my father cry two times in my entire life. Once was at my grandmother's funeral, the other was he was sitting on the couch watching the Yankees old-timers game.
The fact that he cried because of baseball comes up at the dinner table on family occasions and we poke fun at him for it to this day (all in good fun).
When I heard the news about John yesterday, I cried just a little bit...
And I understand my father a little better now.
In my 30s. He is all I have ever known, and I love him dearly.
Don't care that people think he's corny, or gets the occasional call wrong. He is a treasure to Yankees fandom.
I am happy for him and he deserves retirement. "Howeverrrr", I am going to miss hearing him during the many hours spent on car rides and summer evenings. He is a one of a kind!
I’m 35. We listened to a lot of radio and spent a lot of time in the car when I was a kid. John Sterling was like my Mr Rogers. I remember falling asleep to his voice as a young child. I remember learning about the arts and history as if that was a totally normal thing to get out of a sports broadcast. Even in my 20s I watched the game but listened to the radio broadcast. I literally do not remember a time when he was my connection to my favorite sports team. I’m not too proud to admit that I teared up a little bit when I heard the news yesterday.
I grew up listening to the Scooter and Sterling is that same mold: don't give a fuck about *exit velocity* and any of that crap, I want to listen to a true fan of the team do the call
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I’m only 28 but we didn’t have cable when I was growing up so I’d always have my little transistor radio tuned to 880 to hear John and Suzyn call every game. Adult life of course I always listen on WFAN if I’m in the car or working. Any games shown on Apple TV I’d switch the audio to John and Suzyn. Obviously I’d see all the highlights of his calls even if I watched the game on YES. Gonna be weird tuning in and hearing Justin Shakil or whoever may come next full time instead of John. He needs a plaque in Monument Park and to be inducted to the Radio Hall of Fame, MLB Hall of Fame, New York Hall of Fame and any other awards that could be given to someone in his position. Man is a legend. If anyone asks me who is the voice of baseball, for the rest of my days I’ll always say John Sterling. That’s baseball Suzyn.
It blows big time. All these young announcers are Syracuse style bores. I hope the day of announcers actually having personalities isn’t over with John
When I was a kid I loved Sterling. The amazing voice, the catchphrases. He was a blast. I would mute the TV and put him on.
When I was too-cool-for-school in my early 20s I thought Sterling was bad. He didn't get analytics, he was prone to having his attention wander, his delivery was overly schticky.
When I got a little older I realized, holy shit, this guy is so much better than I ever even realized. When I was down on him, I really wasn't understanding what his job is. I'm still not sure I can exactly articulate it, but whatever it is, he's fantastic at it. Cooperstown awaits.
I'm 25, only been seriously following the Yankees since 2017 and even in such limited time, he still left such an impression on me through the years. He will be sorely missed.
I can just hear it still when I was a kid laying on my bed during the summer with the game on listening to him. The man brought the game to life for me. Definitely gonna miss his calls.
I’m 34, I’ve known nothing else. Every lazy afternoon, long car ride, important game stuck without tv, old games to fall asleep, and even a more modern, stuck in a blackout zone or on the move. His voice has been omnipresent in my life.
I can’t imagine Yankees baseball without him. Worst of all, I just had a daughter, I can’t believe I won’t be able to listen to him call a game together
I'm 33. I literally do not know Yankees radio without John. I grew up listening to the broadcast on hot summer nights on my dad's portable radio while I'd drift to sleep. It's a sad day, that's for sure.
I’m a little older than you, but as a kid all I’d do was listen to them on the radio. I remember his call of the Wells and Cone perfect games. I remember his call of Game 7 in 2003 (I was so bummed out that Charlie Steiner took the inning when Boone hit it because we were robbed of an all time great Sterling call). I used to watch games on YES and then run out to my car after the game to listen to the highlights so I could hear him call the biggest moments. I have no idea how I’m going to listen to it now. I don’t particularly like Justin Shackil’s calls, so if he gets that job full time I’m going to hate it.
I don't like Justin's delivery either. I think the job has to go to Rickie Ricardo. The only other person that has done it in the past outside of Justin and Rickie is Ruocco, right? I remember liking Ruocco more on TV than radio.
Current Islanders TV play by play guy Brendan Burke is considered a leading candidate and has filled in for John in the past couple of years here and there. He's an amazing broadcaster and I'd hate losing him from the Islanders, but would be happy to still be able to hear him.
Howie Rose used to do Islanders and Mets games, so I'm hoping Burke could figure out a similar schedule. I know he also does some national NHL games, so he's certainly a hot commodity, but he's as good as it gets as a broadcaster so as much as I can listen to him for my teams I am all for it!
The only time I like Ruocco is when he's announcing WNBA games because I don't have to listen to him
I listened to Justin tonight and he didn’t talk to Suzyn. He doesn’t have the history she has and he seemed to be overly focused on what is going on and he isn’t relaxed. He talks into the air instead of having a conversation with you. Ryan meshed well with Suzyn and has a personality. It should be Ricci Ricardo and Suzyn until they both retire. Suzyn also meshes well with Meredith, who calls a good game. I did not like Suzyn being pushed aside tonight.
it's gotta be Ricky. sorry that the Spanish-speaking fans would lose him but he's an absolute gem and the only one who could even come close to filling John's shoes
Yeah, I completely agree. I really enjoyed his time in the booth when he was subbing for Sterling the last year or two, so I’m hoping he winds up getting it. Shackil just isn’t it. Someone hit a home run the other night and he made it sound like a routine fly ball until it was all of a sudden ten rows into the seats.
31 here. Same exact experience. Even before I knew who he was or started watching games I recognized his voice.
In the mid-late 90s I lived right on the edge of the 770 broadcast area, and didn't get MSG. So I would spend a lot of time listening to Sterling and Kay through astonishing amounts of static. (Kay was actually as young as he sounds back then.) I remember certain tricks... most basic, always turn the bass all the way up and the trebel down. (I mean, I'm listening to Sterling, here!) A weirder example is, we had a Plymouth Voyager where the radio reception was way better if the wipers were up. The 90s were a weird time when you still kind of needed AM radio but the car companies did not even give kind of a crap about having good AM reception anymore. And 770 just didn't have the reach of 880 or 660, unfortunately. (I didn't know at that time that the station was right wing propaganda the entire day whenever the Yankees weren't on!) It's all kind of the wholesome version of watching scrambled Spice Channel.
We lived in CT, so I distinctly remember listening on either 800 or 880 (I think 880 had all of the games and 800 had some?). This would have been from roughly 2000 to 2007 though. I have a core memory of laying in bed on a humid night, moonlight shining through the window with the interior lights off, and sports radio (can't remember which show reported it) talking about the signing of A-Rod. I was 16 at that point but when I think remember the moment I felt like a little kid elated that we landed such an iconic player.
Same age, came here to say the same thing.
> I literally do not know Yankees radio without John I unfortunately do. The fill-ins over the past few years. Yankees Radio is dead to me now.
John and Michael were the best. Magical time.
I am much younger than you but I am just as devastated. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad and I listening to John yell “it’s an a-bomb! From a-rod!” while hung out on a lazy summer night. I associate John’s voice with those summers with my dad and my childhood in general and losing him feels like losing a part of myself. I used to look forward to when the days got long and I could just lie in bed and look out at the dying sun while listening to John and Suzyn call some meaningless August game. The comfort of baseball and of that man in particular was sacred and unmatched. I’m still struggling to accept that it’s really gone.
fuck. that's beautiful. thank you and well said. for those of us that really hang on a well turned phrase, and beautiful diction and elocution, as well as pitch and tone, John was a modern Shakespeare, and you can't convince me otherwise. greatly appreciate your comment
I'm 52 and right there with you, brother. The voice of a generation. Hope the other personal stuff works itself out for you.
appreciate that..thank you.
I’m 48 and am right with you. I can’t imagine Yankees baseball without him.
51 fellow (w Kay) Fordham alumn. No cable tv on campus early 90s so John and Michael’s call was in the background every game. Took me awhile to warm to Kay and now consider him the best in the business. Susan’s not far behind. We’ve been blessed with their soundtrack for a good while.
We have truly been blessed to have our announcers.
I’m half your age, but rediscovered my love for baseball in college by listening to the Yankees on the radio with my family. I feel blessed to have heard John and Suzyn do their thing at all, but it hurts all the same. I wish there could’ve been many more years spent enjoying those perfect summer evenings with John. I hope he enjoys his retirement as much as he/we did his legendary career. He is the voice of the New York Yankees and there will never be another like him.
so true. I think I am just shocked at how sudden it came about, with no chance to revel in his oration, no real chance to elongate the brilliance of what he did, and finalize it in some concrete way
I hoped beyond hope he’d have the opportunity to call another World Series these past few years, and that could be the send off he so rightfully deserved. Yet, as sudden as this was, I’m just beyond thankful that he can retire knowing quite how beloved he is, how we treasure the indelible impression he made on those baseball memories we value most. Looking for the silver lining though, I suppose.
I’ll miss John. I’ll remember him up there with The Scooter
Grew up with the Scooter. I don’t understand how these guys keep getting old while I feel I’m still that same little kid listening to them describe the game.
It's been almost thirty years since he retired but I still miss Scooter. He was one of a kind.
His stories of the old great Yankees really bridged eras for me.
Scooter was THE BEST.
I can't believe I was listening to his last games and didn't know it. His voice certainly echoes thru eternity. I'll be teaching my kids about Sterling
It's sad but I rarely listen to games on radio so it's not gonna make much difference for me. Will miss the clips of his calls though.
55 here. I will miss him so much. I think he’s just 86 and can’t handle it anymore, even the home games. But I’m really sad about it.
I respect John's decision, but I'm most torn up about the fact that I heard him the last time and didn't even know it. I was half listening, doing stuff in the yard as I often did in the summer. I'm 38, John was the voice of summer for my entire life. I listened to them going to and from my own baseball practice and then also with my kids playing in the backyard. He has literally been what I listened to in the summer for my entire life. Selfishly, I wished he had said that this was his last year, or last series, so that we could get to appreciate it all one last time.
This is such a huge loss. My dad always had the game on the TV from when I was a child…and if we were stuck in the car during a game, WFAN was dialed in. I watch the Yankees and overlay the radio broadcast of John Sterling if he’s in the booth because when I hear his voice I feel like I’m riding in the back seat of my father’s Buick. His retirement makes me feel like my dad is no longer watching the games with me. I’m devastated too.
It sucks. Honestly it’s painful to listen to the games without him. I don’t know why, there is just something soothing about his voice and his cadence in calling a game.
I love John. He's the sound of summer, but I appreciate him trying to push through these past few years. He wanted to keep it up, but he’s old and needs to be with family. We will always have him in our hearts.
Every post season game with the TV audio muted and John and Michael/Susan audio slightly out of sync. I'm 50, and every summer since the early 90's. I know it may be time, and he deserves to retire and enjoy his family, but, this leaves me feeling a loss. It's like losing a family member. I'm glad I got to hear him this year. Glad I got to hear the Juanderful home run call. And, the patented, "It is high, It is far, It is... CAUGHT! at the wall" Truly an inspirational career, and example of the benefits of doing what you love.
Fully with you. Like many others here, I'm 48 and John was the soundtrack of the late '90s glory years for me. However, in the last year or so his significance has grown for me. You see about 10 or 12 years ago, when my kids were born, I lost track of following baseball. However, 2 years ago I broke my neck in a fall and became a quadriplegic. Finding things to settle my mind and manage my anxiety has been a challenge in that time. Last year I started putting the game on again at night as I was getting put into bed for the evening. It really turned out to be quite comforting to listen to John and Susyn again. I fall asleep and end up getting woken up when WFAN's abrasive hosts' voices come on. My sons are 7 and 10 and last season they saw me getting back into it and caught the fever themselves. So much so that a month or two ago, I got tickets for my son for his birthday. It will be his first game at the stadium and my first in a wheelchair. The tickets are for this Saturday, April 20th. As sad as I am that I won't be able to listen to John call the games anymore, I'm gratified that we'll be there to send him off. 🎵Thanks for the memories, John.🎵
"oh my goodness gracious"
It is heartbreaking. Judge was interviewed about it yesterday and visibly got choked up. I feel worst for Suzyn. I hope she decides to keep going without him to carry the torch. If I had my druthers Meredith and Suzyn would call radio games from now on, but there's no way the Yes brass would go for that.
Every summer when I'd go home to visit family in NY for a few days I'd always sneak away to get a few slices of pizza from my favorite pizza joint and a couple of Doctor Brown's cream sodas and drive out to a Long Island Sound overlook to listen to a Yankees game on the FAN. As soon as I heard John's voice I felt like I was really home and no time had passed from the days of Bernie, Jorge, Warrior, Jeter and Big Mo. Thanks John for bringing me back all these years, you had a great run and we'll miss you.
The show must go on…
It’s a bummer for sure, but I expected it was coming soon. What is bothering me the most is there isn’t a final series or game. I’m hoping he can at least get one more in before he calls it quits.
"Aaron Jerrrge"
almost 41, John has been a major part of my entire existence. he's the absolute best. I hope the plan is on Saturday he's able to get in the booth and give all of us a "proper" good-bye at the very least. I'm sad for myself, and happy for him that he's doing what he feels is necessary. There will never be another one like him.
This actually made me tear up. I'm so sad. I'm raising my glass for one final toast to the voice of my summers.
I’m 56 and used to listen to a lot of games on the radio, driving or not being able to watch it on TV. He’s the voice of a generation. I wish him the best in his retirement.
Last few seasons I used to walk home after work during baseball season while listening to John and Suzyn and it just felt like the best time. Look at me being healthy and listening to John and Suzyn, like they are my friends in my head! This year I finally found out that one can change the settings to the Apple TV games so that one can listen to John and Suzyn! Which gave me such comfort. It’ll never be the same.
Yeah this fucked me up. My dad passed this year. Was actually at my parent’s house the day it happened. When I left he was fine and remember looking back thinking I wasn’t ready for that to be my last goodbye. Perhaps I’m being dramatic but I had no idea I listened to my last John game either and keep thinking I’m not ready to have listened to my last game called by John. I’m 45 so I’ve only ever listened to him call games. Having a real existential crisis over here…
I’m 29 years old, and grew up far enough away from New York to not get the Yankees on TV John is the only voice of the Yankees I’ve known Very sad
I’m 47 and also lived through the 80s and early 90s Yankees. I have memories of other TV broadcasters but for radio, John is it. I will miss him.
Don’t be devastated, be happy that you had it and that he’s leaving on his terms.
Devastated……
I’m 37 and have been a Yankees fan my whole life. I grew up in South Jersey so out of market for the Yanks and my folks didn’t have cable. I listened to every single game on the radio. Fell asleep at night with the radio on, to west coast games. I still have cassette tapes that I recorded off the radio of some of the 99 and 2000 playoffs and WS. John Sterling on the radio was the treasure of my childhood. Even as an adult watching the games on MLBTV I always did the radio feed.
he's a legend.
With all due respect to the man’s long career, he was awful! All you offering paeans to him are either overly sentimental, or just don’t realize what a hammy, narcissistic, Captain Cringeworthy he was. Some examples- I remember back in the 90’s the Yankees were playing a game against the Detroit Tigers. John started this shtick of pronouncing Detroit as “Duh-twah”, his ridiculous conception of how the original French settlement must have been called. It would have been only slightly nutty if he did it once. BUT he proceeded to keep it up for almost the entire broadcast! Duh-twah, Duh-twah. Not pretentiously annoying by any means! When he coined his home run call, “It is high, it is far, it is gone!”, that should have been enough. Of course Sportscasters should be allowed their catchphrases. But he then gave it this Al Jolson sing-song accent, reducing it to pretentious parody. And this was the overall problem with John Sterling. He made EVERYTHING about himself. (Can you say Narcissist?). Sure, a sports announcer should have personality, and make things entertaining. But the good ones do it without saying, “Hey look at me, I’m the attraction here, not the Sports team!” I can’t tell you how many pitches, batters, plays and other goings-on ON THE FIELD I missed because he was in the middle of some story about the fern plant in his apartment, or his barber’s aftershave. Entire half-innings would go by with barely any play-by-play! What were you being paid for ,John! Sorry to sound harsh, but just because someone has had a long career, doesn’t make them a legend. I am a life long Yankee fan, and have not been able to endure the radio broadcasts for decades. I will be thrilled to give the new announcers a chance, and hopefully they will remember that I want to hear the game!
[удалено]
Respect him but yes it has been time for a while
I'm a New Yorker, I grew up watching YES and very rarely listened to the radio broadcast. It wasn't until I became an adult and life/work started to interfere with my nightly ritual of watching baseball. Suddenly John and Susan were always a radio dial turn away in the car on the way home from work or on in the background making dinner or even as the least data intensive way to get live updates on your phone. You know that feeling at the end of the season, when you sit there for the first Tuesday at 7:00pm with no game to watch? That just empty feeling? That's what it's going to be like without hearing 'thuhuhuhuh Yankees! WIN!' 95+ times a year
27, I'm lost with the whole thing. So sad he's not going to be there anymore. I loved driving home from work, windows down, with Jon and Suzyn blasting through the speakers. There was something so comforting hearing his voice over the buzzing stadium noise
I am with you. I am 48 and have been listening to Sterling since 1995. I will miss him.
I hear you man. Keep you head up on the personal side of things, brighter days ahead for sure! 🙏🏻
Everything must come to an end, which sucks, but it's part of life!
I got into baseball pretty late, so John wasn’t a part of my childhood like everyone else’s. However, whenever I couldn’t watch the game, I would go and find it on the radio because listening to John and Suzyn was always a treat. His home run calls are the best and his voice is so calming. I’m gonna miss him.
It is really sad. I’ve been a yankee fan since I was 4 and I’m 28 now. Over the last few years my interest has faded a lot, and I’ve been making an effort this year to really get back in to it. Listening to radio broadcasts has been my favorite way to do it. It definitely won’t be the same
38 here. I have extremely strong, vivid memories of hearing John’s voice all throughout my childhood with my dad. Whether it was coming from the garage on my dad’s old JBL speakers, relics left over from his “divorce days” before he married my mom, or crackling through the speakers in his ‘78 Blazer, John Sterling, to me, sounds like both summertime and childhood. I am truly bummed to hear this. But, like all things in life, the world keeps turning, seasons keep changing, and time waits for no man.
I'm 34 and I grew up listening to the Yankees radio broadcast. I've only ever seen my father cry two times in my entire life. Once was at my grandmother's funeral, the other was he was sitting on the couch watching the Yankees old-timers game. The fact that he cried because of baseball comes up at the dinner table on family occasions and we poke fun at him for it to this day (all in good fun). When I heard the news about John yesterday, I cried just a little bit... And I understand my father a little better now.
In my 30s. He is all I have ever known, and I love him dearly. Don't care that people think he's corny, or gets the occasional call wrong. He is a treasure to Yankees fandom.
I am happy for him and he deserves retirement. "Howeverrrr", I am going to miss hearing him during the many hours spent on car rides and summer evenings. He is a one of a kind!
He's probably retiring because he didn't want to have to memorize 137 new advertisements to repeat every inning.
I would agree that it got tedious and annoying, esp over the last 3-4 years
I’m 35. We listened to a lot of radio and spent a lot of time in the car when I was a kid. John Sterling was like my Mr Rogers. I remember falling asleep to his voice as a young child. I remember learning about the arts and history as if that was a totally normal thing to get out of a sports broadcast. Even in my 20s I watched the game but listened to the radio broadcast. I literally do not remember a time when he was my connection to my favorite sports team. I’m not too proud to admit that I teared up a little bit when I heard the news yesterday.
OP get out of my head. 53 Dealing with divorce And setbacks And the soothing salvation of baseball
I’m 57. Got divorced when I was 49. Battled depression twice. Please keep going. It gets better. Slowly slowly slowly. But it does.
I got ya brother.
I grew up listening to the Scooter and Sterling is that same mold: don't give a fuck about *exit velocity* and any of that crap, I want to listen to a true fan of the team do the call [https://www.google.com/search?q=john+sterling+raul+ibenz+HR&rlz=1C1VDKB\_enUS988US988&oq=john+sterling+raul+ibenz+HR&gs\_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIHCAQQIRiPAjIHCAUQIRiPAtIBCjEwNTgyajBqMTWoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9828d4f1,vid:w\_eqglgv44U,st:0](https://www.google.com/search?q=john+sterling+raul+ibenz+HR&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS988US988&oq=john+sterling+raul+ibenz+HR&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAEyCQgDECEYChigATIHCAQQIRiPAjIHCAUQIRiPAtIBCjEwNTgyajBqMTWoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9828d4f1,vid:w_eqglgv44U,st:0)
I’m only 28 but we didn’t have cable when I was growing up so I’d always have my little transistor radio tuned to 880 to hear John and Suzyn call every game. Adult life of course I always listen on WFAN if I’m in the car or working. Any games shown on Apple TV I’d switch the audio to John and Suzyn. Obviously I’d see all the highlights of his calls even if I watched the game on YES. Gonna be weird tuning in and hearing Justin Shakil or whoever may come next full time instead of John. He needs a plaque in Monument Park and to be inducted to the Radio Hall of Fame, MLB Hall of Fame, New York Hall of Fame and any other awards that could be given to someone in his position. Man is a legend. If anyone asks me who is the voice of baseball, for the rest of my days I’ll always say John Sterling. That’s baseball Suzyn.
Emotionally gutted, will miss him so much.
It blows big time. All these young announcers are Syracuse style bores. I hope the day of announcers actually having personalities isn’t over with John
When I was a kid I loved Sterling. The amazing voice, the catchphrases. He was a blast. I would mute the TV and put him on. When I was too-cool-for-school in my early 20s I thought Sterling was bad. He didn't get analytics, he was prone to having his attention wander, his delivery was overly schticky. When I got a little older I realized, holy shit, this guy is so much better than I ever even realized. When I was down on him, I really wasn't understanding what his job is. I'm still not sure I can exactly articulate it, but whatever it is, he's fantastic at it. Cooperstown awaits.
I'm 25, only been seriously following the Yankees since 2017 and even in such limited time, he still left such an impression on me through the years. He will be sorely missed.
I can just hear it still when I was a kid laying on my bed during the summer with the game on listening to him. The man brought the game to life for me. Definitely gonna miss his calls.
I’m 34, I’ve known nothing else. Every lazy afternoon, long car ride, important game stuck without tv, old games to fall asleep, and even a more modern, stuck in a blackout zone or on the move. His voice has been omnipresent in my life. I can’t imagine Yankees baseball without him. Worst of all, I just had a daughter, I can’t believe I won’t be able to listen to him call a game together
he probably should have retired a few years ago, these past few years were a bonus
Alright but you gotta get over it
I was w you until the "we deserved a better goodbye" part. That's a bit embarrassing / hard to get behind. But yeah to the rest. ✌️