He’ll be back. Just not as much.
The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reports John Sterling will return in 2022 as the radio voice of the New York Yankees.
According to the report, WFAN officials “will make a proposal ... to Sterling this offseason to work fewer games next season. He would still do a heavy load, but maybe not all 162.”
Marchand reported WFAN “has tried to have Sterling reduce his game load for a while. Former head of programming Mark Chernoff had this same meeting yearly, but never really got Sterling to budge.”
But when asked by Marchand for his reaction to working fewer games next year, Sterling, who has been the Yankees’ primary play-by-play man since 1989, said, “That’s cool.”
Audacy senior VP Chris Oliviero, who is charged with overseeing WFAN, provided the following statement to Marchand:
“John is the voice of the New York Yankees, and that’s not changing in 2022. We will all sit down soon at one of his favorite New Jersey diners and game plan for next season when both he and Suzyn (Waldman) are back in The Bronx behind the WFAN microphones.”
Want more Yankees coverage? Get exclusive news, behind-the-scenes observations and the ability to text directly with beat writers
Sterling’s season ended on a down note, butchering the call of a Giancarlo Stanton blast in the Yankees’ 6-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Game. Per NJ Advance Media’s Brendan Kuty:
Stanton hammered a Nathan Eovaldi slider deep to left field. Stanton took it easy out of the box, seemingly thinking it was a home run.
The 83-year-old Sterling was fooled, as well.
“Drilled, there it goes! Deep to left! It is high! It is far! It is … gone! Out of the ballpark! A Stantonian home run!” Sterling said.
Except it wasn’t.
The ball clanked off the MGM Resorts sign in the middle of the Green Monster. Since Stanton didn’t run hard, it ended up a single instead of a double.
Sterling, who was at the ballpark, quickly realized his mistake.
“Now, what did I do wrong? What did I see wrong? He’s at first base,” Sterling said.
It’s worth noting that the Wild Card Game was the only one which Sterling and Waldman called in person this year, according to Marchand. The pair broadcast every other road game, including those at nearby Citi Field, from the radio booth at Yankee Stadium. But Sterling told Marchand he hopes to be back on the road in 2022.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com.
Ad Choices