Sterling wasn't just an unmistakable voice. He was one of a kind
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The phrase “one of a kind” gets thrown around all the time, but in the case of John Sterling, truer words have never been spoken.
John, who passed away at 87, was an original. He brought Broadway showmanship to the radio booth, and nobody loved playing to the crowd more than he did.
That unmistakable voice was the soundtrack to many of my summers before I started covering baseball in 2001. During my 16 years on the Yankees beat, it became a constant presence every day -- and a welcome one, at that.
I didn’t know John very well during my first six years covering the team for MLB.com; after all, we’re talking about someone who didn’t have a computer, didn’t have an e-mail address and used a flip phone. How would he have found my work unless someone printed it out for him?
As a first-year writer who often felt like I didn’t belong, John was always kind and gracious when we saw each other. One afternoon at Yankee Stadium, he walked up to me waving a piece of paper -- someone had indeed printed a story I wrote to show it to him -- to tell me how much he enjoyed reading it.
“Maybe I’ll have to figure out how to do the Internet,” he said before letting out a hearty laugh. “Who am I kidding? That’s not going to happen.”
My first lengthy interaction with John came near the end of my first year on the beat, when he joined a bunch of writers for dinner in Seattle on an off-day during the ALCS. I remember sitting near him and listening to him tell stories about his days calling Islanders games, and as a die-hard Isles fan, I couldn’t get enough.
After six years of casual hellos and the occasional meal in the Stadium’s press dining room, I left MLB.com to become the Yankees beat writer at the New York Daily News. And thanks to the newspaper’s sponsorship with Yankees radio, I was now part of that broadcast, joining John and Suzyn Waldman in the booth for “The Daily News Fifth” segment during the fifth inning of every game.
I had done plenty of spots on the radio to that point in my career, but this was different. I was going to be in the booth, not only watching John Sterling call play-by-play, but talking to him and Suzyn on the air. Every day!
I asked my friend Sam Borden, who had just finished his stint as the Daily News’ Yankees beat writer, if he had any tips for me.
“It’s going to be great,” Sam said. “Just stop talking when you see the pitcher start his windup. Don’t make John wait to call the pitch -- because he won’t.”
My time in the booth was amazing. When the Yankees were doing well, John would gush about whichever players were carrying the team. When they were scuffling? Well, despite people’s belief that he was a huge homer, John wouldn’t hold back with his criticism. The word “we” never came out of his mouth during a broadcast; yes, he loved the Yankees, but he wasn’t against tough love when the team deserved it. I always appreciated that.
In 2014, the team was in a brutal rut, both at the plate and on the mound. My half-inning in the booth was while the opposing team was at bat, and when I walked into the booth, John said to me, “You’re lucky you get to be in here when the Rays are up -- at least you’ll get some good air time. If the Yankees were up, you would be here for about 90 seconds because this team just can not hit.”
One night, my half-inning in the booth included four Yankees pitching changes. After the second one, which came about 15 or 20 minutes into the inning, Suzyn turned to me and said, “You can go back to the press box if you have to start writing.” John looked up and snapped, “Oh no you don’t, if we have to be stuck here watching this slop, so do you!” I stayed until the third out, which finally arrived after about 35 or 40 minutes.
The Daily News Fifth was one of my favorite parts of the job. Getting to spend a half-inning with this legendary broadcast team -- and be a part of the show -- was a thrill, both personally and professionally. People would often ask me what John was really like. My answer was the same every time: “The guy you hear on the radio? Same guy.”
When I returned to MLB.com in 2017, John congratulated me on the new job before saying, “Of course, this means I won’t be able to read your stuff anymore.”
Every time I would bring my sons to the ballpark, a trip to the press box to see John and Suzyn was a requirement. He would marvel at how big they were getting, tell them how he remembered when they were “wee little lads,” chit-chatting for a few minutes before we headed to our seats. Whatever happened in the game that day, their visit to the booth was always a highlight.
People will remember John for his work on the air -- his “act,” as he liked to call it -- and while his classic home run calls and signature “Theeeeeee Yankees win!” will be his lasting legacy, my memories of him will focus on laugh-filled dinners, amazing stories and more than two decades of friendship.
At the end of every Daily News Fifth, John would read the line score before adding, “We thank you, Mark.”
No, John. Thank you. Rest in peace, my dear friend.