NEW YORK — If there was any question about how John Sterling might handle a sendoff after more than three decades broadcasting winning baseball in the Bronx, the answer arrived early Saturday morning, as the longtime radio “Voice of the Yankees” settled into the seat of honor outside the team’s clubhouse.
Recognizing his surroundings from manager Aaron Boone’s daily press conferences, Sterling leaned into a microphone and quipped: “Is this where Boonie says, ‘I think he’s getting close?’”
The remark filled the room with laughter. And it was perfectly appropriate for a man who spent all those innings entertaining in his unique, unapologetic and boisterous style.
Famously celebrated for his booming baritone, sing-song inflections and signature home run calls, Sterling thanked his audiences while savoring the acknowledgment of a career done to a fare-thee-well as the club honored his service with a ceremony before Saturday’s game against the Rays.
“What I really want to do is to thank you, and I’ll tell you why,” Sterling said. “I’ve been here with the Yankees 36 years, and in that time, person after person — group after group — have come to me with kindness, respect and love. How lucky can you be for people to celebrate what you do for a living?”
With Sterling’s four children and other family members watching from the field behind home plate, video messages from Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter were played. Tino Martinez presented Sterling, 85, with a silver set of cufflinks. Sterling received a pinstriped Yankees jersey with the number 5,631 — an official tally of broadcasts that ended with his retirement last week.
Sterling’s longtime broadcast partners, Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman, handed him a silver engraved microphone. Sterling — who proudly said that he plans to enjoy retirement by watching the Yankees and other sports at home — was then presented with an 83-inch television on behalf of the Yankees, as Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” played over the stadium loudspeakers.
