{"id":121250,"date":"2026-05-04T10:31:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=121250"},"modified":"2026-05-04T10:31:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:31:45","slug":"radio-voice-of-the-yankees-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/04\/radio-voice-of-the-yankees-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Voice of the Yankees Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Yankee fans, and baseball fans in general woke up on Monday morning to some of the worst news they could hear. The legendary voice of the New York Yankees, John Sterling, has passed away at the age of 87. Waking up to the news from texts with family and friends, I broke down in tears. Sterling, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/04\/15\/john-sterling-announces-retirement\/\" target=\"_self\">who was the radio voice of the Yankees from 1989-2024<\/a>, was the soundtrack to summer for so many fans.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Yankees mourn the loss of legendary broadcaster John Sterling. Our thoughts are with John\u2019s family, friends and loved ones at this time. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1rCeRC1D61\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/1rCeRC1D61<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Yankees (@Yankees) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Yankees\/status\/2051283923653591066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Sterling&#8217;s Tenure in New York<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBPYvPN0oJ\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 4454px; aspect-ratio: 4454\/2865;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>He called five world championships, eight pennant-winning teams, and many more moments over the years. Sterling&#8217;s old-fashioned style of calling games was unique to him and special. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/04\/22\/the-most-memorable-calls-behind-john-sterlings-legendary-career\/\" target=\"_self\">His famous home run calls<\/a> like &#8220;It&#8217;s and A-Bomb from A-Rod&#8221;, for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/r\/rodrial01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Rodriguez<\/a> or &#8220;Giancarlo, No Si Po Sto Parlo&#8221; for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/stantmi03.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giancarlo Stanton<\/a>, made all fans chuckle with excitement. To this day, Yankee Stadium still plays what has been coined as the &#8220;Sterling Shake&#8221; when the Yankees win a game.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">RIP John Sterling <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6uKtP6IphJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/6uKtP6IphJ<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2aRxXxC2l3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/2aRxXxC2l3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 YankeesFan239 (@YanksFan239) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/YanksFan239\/status\/2051274935792713732?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The amount of winning the Yankees did during Sterling&#8217;s tenure aided his famous calls. From moments of excitement, like winning five championships, to moments of losses (I won&#8217;t bring them up, but you know which ones I&#8217;m talking about), Sterling was there. The best part was his bluntness, like in 2024 when he said that the Yankees &#8220;run the bases like drunks&#8221;. He was right.<\/p>\n<p>Most of all, Sterling loved his craft, and fans could feel that through the microphone. He loved calling games and had so much fun doing it. As famous WFAN radio host Mike Francesca once said on his show &#8220;You want to know what&#8217;s heaven for John Sterling?&#8230; When the ball is in the air, that&#8217;s heaven for John Sterling&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h2>Prior to the Yankees<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBcRsOmaod\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3000px; aspect-ratio: 3000\/1996;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Before becoming the iconic radio voice of the New York Yankees in 1989, John Sterling built a versatile broadcasting resume that spanned multiple sports and cities. He spent nine years in Atlanta, where he called games for the Braves (MLB) and the Hawks (NBA), developing the flair for the dramatic that would later become his trademark. When he was with the Braves, Sterling made one of the more famous calls in MLB history in a match-up between the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/boxes\/ATL\/ATL198507040.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mets and the Braves on July 4th, 1985<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">In an amazing July 4th ballgame, Atlanta <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Braves?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Braves<\/a> pitcher Rick Camp hits an 18th inning HR on the morning of July 5th to tie the game vs. the New York <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Mets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Mets<\/a>! Classic call by John Sterling! (1985) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MLB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#MLB<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RIPJohnSterling?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#RIPJohnSterling<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WRL6iWho2l\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/WRL6iWho2l<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BSmile\/status\/2051289225077637222?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Sterling was also no stranger to the New York airwaves prior to his Bronx tenure; he hosted a successful talk show on WMCA and called games for the Islanders and the Nets. Whether he was describing a slam dunk or a slap shot.<\/p>\n<p>Sterling will be sorely missed in New York, and will be mourned across baseball. He was a legends, and as the saying goes, &#8220;legends never die&#8221;, and neither will his calls.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aAm-8vgh4-8?si=Jo84Lh4MKAZCd2e2\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Anyway, it will be a 2-2 to Mastui. The pitch..&#8221;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em><strong>(Top Image Credit: \u00a9 Viorel Florescu\/NorthJersey.com \/ <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em><strong>USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yankee fans, and baseball fans in general woke up on Monday morning to some of the worst news they could hear. The legendary voice of the New York Yankees, John Sterling, has passed away at the age of 87. Waking up to the news from texts with family and friends, I broke down in tears. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5663,"featured_media":121251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,4454,2,1071,5],"tags":[29497,29496,41],"class_list":["post-121250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-braves","category-baseball-history","category-featured","category-mlb","category-yankees","tag-baseball-history","tag-john-sterling","tag-new-york-yankees"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121253,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121250\/revisions\/121253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}