The legendary radio voice of the Yankees, John Sterling, is planning to hold a news conference Friday where he is expected to announce plans on his future, he told The Athletic.
There is an expectation among Yankees and WFAN officials that he will retire because of health concerns, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. The team and the station have left it up to Sterling, leaving the possibility he could change his mind.
“We are going to have a press conference to do everything on Friday,” Sterling said. Sterling declined to confirm that he will retire and has been famously reluctant to do so. He is not scheduled to call a game until Friday in the Bronx against the Tampa Bay Rays. He had already cut back the amount of road games he is doing this year.
If Sterling goes through with his retirement, it is expected to go into effect immediately.
Sterling, 85, was the soundtrack to the Derek Jeter-led Yankees title run from 1996 to 2000, when the franchise won four World Series in five years. He also made the call when the Yankees won the World Series in 2009, a team led by CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez. Sterling, who began calling Yankees games in 1989, punctuated the team’s wins with, “Thuuuuuu-uggh Yankees win!”
His unique home run calls live in Yankee lore with memorable calls including “Bern, baby, Bern!” for Bernie Williams and “a thrilla from Godzilla” for Hideki Matsui.
WFAN will replace Sterling with 37-year-old Justin Shackil and 24-year-old Emmanuel Berbari, who combined are 24 years younger than Sterling. The two were already slated to call the majority of the road games this season with Suzyn Waldman.
(Photo: Bob Karp / Staff Photographer / USA Today Network)
