I used to be a New York Yankees fan way back in the day. And by “back in the day,” I mean the late 1970’s. Radio station 3WD in Schenectady would broadcast Yankees games on the radio, and I would enjoy listening to Bill White and Frank Messer and Phil Rizzuto call games. Even when Phil went on a binge of “Holy Cow” exclamations, I knew that his exclamations came from a love for the team and its success at the time.
I mean … how cool was it to hear Meat Loaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and suddenly hear Phil Rizzuto with a baseball call that simulated the slang terms for making out and heavy petting in the back seat of a car? STOP RIGHT THERE … I gotta know right now… π
And I know that the New York Yankees have a legacy of strong radio announcers. Heck, the great Mel Allen and Red Barber set the bar back in the day. And Bobby Murcer was a decent broadcast entity for the Yankees in the 1980’s.
Then … came the dark times.
The dark times … caused by John Sterling.
If you’ve ever heard John Sterling call a Yankees game … I feel sorry for you. The man was absolutely brutal on the microphone. He would come up with distinct diction for specific players and specific acts, like suggesting Derek Jeter had this incredible “Jeterian swing” at the plate. Yeesh. Or the blatant homerism that, unlike Phil Rizzuto’s true enthusiasm for the pinstripes he once wore, sounded more like an enforced rah-rah session of super-athletes against the local neighborhood sandlot team.
And the home run calls. Oh, god, those home run calls. MMM it is high, MMMM it is far, MMM it is gawne! And a song and dance identifying each player who cleared the fence.
I could have used less of the “A thrilla from Godzilla” calls on Hideki Matsui home runs, just as much as I didn’t need “An A-Bomb from A-Rod” on Alex Rodriugez fence-clearers. Ugh.
Oh yeah, and that signature call after a Yankees victory. “Ballgame over! The Yankees win! The-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e Yankees WIN!!” Please, Lord, make it stop, I promise I won’t sin ever again.
There’s an old joke about every Yankees game is a doubleheader – the game we all see, and the game John Sterling sees. Because he could go directly into his MMM it is high, MMMM it is far schtick, only for the ball to drop into the outfielder’s hand while Sterling is celebrating what he thought was a three-run homer.
Hoo boy. And just so you know … that embedded video is only “Part 1” of the best of Sterling’s gaffes.
Now comes news that John Sterling has FINALLY put the microphone away. He retired from the Yankees broadcasts yesterday.
To which I say … HALLELUJAH!!
Trust me, if I was on the road and there was a Yankees game on the radio, I would have tried to find the radio feed from the visiting team instead of listening to John Sterling mangle and strangle through three hours of ballgame. The man’s voice wasn’t just chalk on a blackboard. It was chalk, followed by a set of car keys across the blackboard.
Well, if nothing, enjoy your retirement, John Sterling. And may that retirement be as far away from a microphone as possible.
Whew. I feel better now.
But there’s just one thing left for the Yankees to do.
Can we also get Suzyn Waldman out of the broadcast booth as well? Oh my good, goodness gracious… π
Chuck The Writer 
I think Sterling finally realized that his vision was failing him, after most of his critics were telling him that the last few years, and he decided to hang it up.Β Sterling also worked TV for the Braves & Hawks before coming to the Yankees. Yes, he was in the Braves booth with Skip Caray and friends……!
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