John Sterling, the legendary radio voice of the New York Yankees, is coming out of retirement to call the postseason for WFAN, sources briefed on the agreement said Thursday.
The 86-year-old Sterling, who retired in April, will call both home and road games for the Yankees in October, which was a prerequisite of WFAN executives. He will team up with his longtime partner, Suzyn Waldman. Sterling is expected to call some regular-season tune-up games to prepare for the playoffs.
Sterling has been succeeded this year by a trio of play-by-play announcers, Justin Shackil, Rickie Ricardo and Emmanuel Berbari. When The Athletic first reported the possibility of Sterling’s return last month, Sterling expressed he would feel bad for the trio if he stepped in.
However, WFAN boss and Audacy New York president, Chris Oliviero, presented Sterling with the offer Thursday, and Sterling accepted. Top Yankees executives signed off on the move last week.
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While Sterling is returning for October, this is expected to be his last run in the booth. He will resume retirement after he calls games for New York in the playoffs. He called Yankees games for 36 years of his 64-year career. Sterling began the season in the booth but retired shortly after.
In April, the team held a ceremony to honor him, where New York gave him an 83-inch TV as an ode to Sterling’s penchant for watching games in his free time. Sterling’s October return is expected to be a one-time cameo, as WFAN and Yankee executives felt the fan base would want him to be the sound of what they hope is a long playoff run.
For next season, Ricardo, Shackil and Berbari are all candidates for the full-time job. Dave Sims, the Seattle Mariners’ play-by-play announcer, is also a possibility, first revealed by a caller to WFAN’s morning show, “Boomer & Gio.” Sims, 71, is a former WFAN host and 15 years younger than Sterling.
The Yankees and WFAN could also look at other teams for their next lead voice.
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