John Sterling, who broadcast more than three decades of Yankees games and was famously celebrated for his booming baritone, sing-song inflections and signature home run calls, has passed away. He was 87.
A colorful personality who engaged and entertained fans with a distinct conversational style, Sterling called 5,426 regular-season Yankees games and 225 more in the postseason from 1989 until his retirement in 2024. After initially stepping away from the microphone in April of that year, Sterling returned to call selected games late in the ’24 season, including each contest of the World Series.
“We pause today -- along with millions of Yankees fans around the world -- to recognize the passing of one of our own," the Yankees said in a statement. "John Sterling breathed life and excitement into Yankees games for 36 years while wearing his passion for baseball and the Yankees on his sleeve. He informed and entertained generations of fans with a theatrical and unapologetic style that was uniquely his own.
“John treasured his role as the voice of the New York Yankees, and his enthusiasm for the art of broadcasting perfectly complemented our city and our fans. The symmetry between John and his audience was both undeniable and magical, and his signature calls will resonate for as long as we put on pinstripes -- especially after every Yankees win.
“We send our heartfelt condolences to the entire Sterling family, as well as his long list of loved ones and friends.”
At the time of his initial retirement, Sterling said that he considered himself to be “a very blessed human being,” noting that he had lived out a childhood dream of broadcasting on the radio for more than 64 years.
“It’s your medium. You do what you want,” Sterling once said. “You have to paint the picture, which I love doing.”
Sterling had four children with his ex-wife, Jennifer: a daughter, Abigail, and a set of triplets — Veronica, Bradford and Derek — whom he affectionately referred to as “the trips.”
Suzyn Waldman, Sterling’s longtime partner in the booth, called him “one of a kind” and noted that each of their days working together had been a “unique, funny, strange, wonderful experience.”
“There will never be another person like that, to have that kind of love for a team and that kind of love for his fan base,” Waldman said.
Known for his gyrating “Sterling Shake” victory call (“Yankees win … theeeeee Yankees win!”), humorous phrases tacked onto play-by-play action (“Back to back, and belly to belly!”) and personalized home run calls (“Bern, baby, Bern!”), Sterling called 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 to July 2019 – every at-bat of Derek Jeter’s career, every inning of Mariano Rivera’s, and many more.
“This is one of the lucky things that happen in our nutty business,” Sterling said. “I got a phone call in September of ’88 … and he said, ‘Would you like to do the Yankees?’ I never auditioned for the Yankees. What a nutty business. I didn’t apply for it and I didn’t audition, and I got it right away.”
Sterling, who often served as a master of on-field ceremonies for major Yankees events, scarcely masked his affinity for the team he broadcast for; avid listeners could tell if the Yankees were winning or losing, just by the pitch of his voice. Sterling said that principal owner George M. Steinbrenner (also proudly born on the Fourth of July) offered a vote of confidence early in his Yankees tenure.
“The team was very bad: ’89, ’90, ’91, terrible teams,” Sterling said. “I said, ‘Blame the players. They’re the ones who are making outs. They’re the ones who can’t get anyone out.’ So two nights later, we’re in Milwaukee and there’s a rain delay. George stopped me and -- think of how good this made me feel -- he said to me, ‘I just want you to know you’ll always be the Yankee announcer. And if they try to hire anyone (else), I’ll veto it.’”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke of Sterling’s kindness and graciousness while calling him “a voice for generations,” noting that he will “be forever connected to the Yankees.”
Boone recalled how Sterling was hit by a foul ball during a 2023 game at Yankee Stadium; Sterling shook off the impact and continued delivering his call of the at-bat. The baseball was later autographed for Sterling by the batter, Justin Turner, then of the Red Sox.
“That’s John, right?” Boone said. “There’s a youthful exuberance to the way he goes about it that is uniquely John and unapologetically John. I appreciate that about him.”
Aaron Judge said that Sterling became a regular topic of conversation on the team buses and planes as players would aim to predict what home run calls might be crafted for them.
“’What’s John going to come up with this time?’” Judge said. “What’s he going to use? Will he go last name, first name, how’s he going to do this? He always outsmarted us to come up with something great that the fans love, and we love as players, listening to it.”
Sterling’s final game was on Oct. 30, 2024, with the Dodgers triumphing over the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
At the time of his retirement, the Yankees congratulated Sterling for his years of service, stating that he had “exemplified what it means to be a New Yorker with an unapologetic and boisterous style that exuded his passion for baseball, broadcasting and the New York Yankees.”
Born John Sloss on July 4, 1938, Sterling grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He joined the Yankees broadcast team in 1989 from Atlanta’s TBS and WSB Radio, where he called Hawks basketball (1981-89) and Braves games (1982-87).
“In Atlanta, Dominique [Wilkins] was the star of the Hawks and he’d hit a great shot, and I’d say, ‘Dom-in-ique is mag-ni-fique,’” Sterling recalled. “And those things kind of caught on with the Yankees. I guess one day Bernie Williams hit one and I said, ‘Bern, baby, Bern!’ That was the beginning of it.”
It marked a return to the town where he first achieved success, hosting a talk show on WMCA from 1971-78, and calling the Nets (1975-80) and Islanders (1975-78) for WMCA, WVNJ, WWOR-TV and SportsChannel.
“All of a sudden, I’m so busy, I’m working all the time -- and I loved it,” Sterling said.
Sterling also previously called Morgan State Football (eight years) and Washington Bullets basketball in 1981. In addition to seven years at WMCA and a year at WSB in Atlanta, he also hosted talk shows on WFAN and WABC in New York.
Waldman recalled their first encounter in 1987, when she was delivering sports updates on WFAN.
“He was doing a talk show, and I remember he came in and cupped his hand over his ear, and he talked standing up for four hours,” Waldman said. “And I said, ‘This must be a really interesting person.’ He could talk about anything. He could talk about any sport at any time.
“ … He’s the only person I’ve ever met who did everything he ever wanted to do in his life. He’s proudest of his children. Those children adored him, and he was so proud of them. That was his biggest accomplishment. This man lived life to the fullest. It should be a celebration, not a mourning. I mean, who lives their life like that?”