Suzyn Waldman spent decades sitting next to John Sterling in broadcast booths around the world and she offered a very simple explanation of why a whole sport is mourning the Yankees broadcaster whodied Monday at age 87.
“That kind of love for a team and that kind of love for his fan base, there will never be another person like that,” Waldman said on WFAN hours after Sterling’s death was announced.
Waldman said her favorite Sterling moment was not one of his historic “It is high! It is far! It is gone!” and unique home run calls like “Bern, baby, Bern” for Bernie Williams. It is a simple call of a big moment that she cherishes: Derek Jeter’s 3,000thhit on July 9, 2011, when Jeter homered off David Price to reach that milestone.
“He had tears coming down his face. He was crying. I was crying,” Waldman said. “When you see someone’s whole career – we met Derek Jeter when he was just 18 years old. That call was absolutely perfect. And he did it perfectly while he was really emotional.”
Waldman said Sterling never wrote down any of his iconic calls. What came out of him, she said, came from his heart.
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She pointed to his call of the final out of the 1996 World Series. Charlie Hayes caught a popup in foul territory for the Yankees’ first championship in 18 years.
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“Go back and listen to what he said. He never wrote anything down. So, what came out of him, came out of his heart,” Waldman said. “And it was perfect, just perfect.”
Sterling called 5,631 games for the Yankees over 36 seasons, beginning in 1989. He never missed a game for the first 30 years, a streak of 5,060. He retired abruptly early in the 2024 season but came back to call the World Series one final time.
“Every day was a unique, funny, strange, wonderful experience,” Waldman said. “One of a kind”
Born John Sloss in Manhattan, Sterling started his play-by-play career with the NBA’s Baltimore Bullets in 1970-71. He came back to New York in 1971, calling Islanders hockey and Nets basketball. He spent nine years in Atlanta calling Braves and Hawks games for Turner Sports before returning to New York in 1989 to take the Yankees job. Sterling won 12 Emmy Awards and was nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame twice.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman on John Sterling's Death
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