John Sterling, the longtime New York Yankees radio broadcaster known for his signature home run calls, has died at age 87. The Yankees and WFAN announced his passing on Monday. A tribute unfolded during that evening's game when Aaron Judge hit a home run.
John Sterling served as the voice of the Yankees for 36 years, from 1989 until his retirement in 2024. He called 5,631 games, including five World Series championships, and was celebrated for personalized home run calls like “Bern, baby, Bern!” for Bernie Williams and “An A-bomb from A-Rod!” for Alex Rodriguez. The Yankees released a statement mourning his loss: “John Sterling breathed life and excitement into Yankees games for 36 years while wearing his passion for baseball and the Yankees on his sleeve.” They added that his signature calls “will resonate for as long as we put on pinstripes -- especially after every Yankees win.”Sterling grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side as a Yankees fan and began his broadcasting career in 1961. He worked 5,060 consecutive Yankees games from 1989 to 2019 without missing one. In his 2024 retirement statement, he said, “I am a very blessed human being. I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years.” His final game was Game 5 of the 2024 World Series.On Monday, during the Yankees' game against the Baltimore Orioles, Aaron Judge hit his Major League-leading 14th home run, a two-run first-inning blast off Shane Baz. Broadcaster Michael Kay honored Sterling with one of his trademark calls: “It is high, it is far, it is gone … Aaron Judge, a Judgian blast! Here comes the Judge!” The homer marked Judge’s 91st career first-inning home run, third-most in Yankees history behind Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle.Tributes poured in from colleagues and players. Longtime partner Suzyn Waldman called him “one of a kind.” Yankees manager Aaron Boone described him as “a voice for generations.” Aaron Judge recalled team discussions predicting Sterling’s creative calls: “What’s John going to come up with this time?”
