Sports

Entertaining, Authentic and Unique: There Will Never Be Another John Sterling

By Jimmy Traina Sports Illustrated

May 4, 2026 10:59 AM

It was a late December afternoon in 2018. One of the last days that I'd be in the Sports Illustrated office before the long holiday break.

I was sitting at my desk when my iPhone started vibrating. I looked down and saw the name, "John Sterling."

Sterling had been my guest on SI Media With Jimmy Traina on May 24 that year, but we had not spoken since, so I was stunned to see his name because despite interviewing him, first and foremost, I was a massive fan of his work as the radio voice of the Yankees.

I picked up the phone and quickly walked into an empty office so I could have some privacy because I didn't want my co-workers to hear me fanboy out during the call.

Hearing that unmistakable voice when I answered the call will be ingrained in my brain forever. "Jimmy, John Sterling here." I resisted the urge to say, "Yes, I know. I can't believe the voice of the Yankees is calling me right now,"

Sterling went on to tell me that he was doing some year-end organizing and he had realized that he never called to thank me for having him on the SI Media Podcast and always being so supportive of his work.

I was completely blown away. Even though it was seven months after the fact, Sterling took the time to reach out to me when it was completely unnecessary.

Legendary Yankees Announcer John Sterling Dies at 87

I don't want to sit here and act like I knew Sterling well or was close to him. He was a guest on my podcast three times, with his latest appearance coming in 2024 after he announced his retirement. But this act alone told me all I needed to know about who he was. It also showed that his radio persona was no different than his "real life" persona. He was a character on and off the air.

Even if I never interviewed Sterling, he would still be one of the top four or five central figures of my sports fandom.

Sterling called Yankees games on the radio from 1989 to 2024. From 1989 to 2019, he called 5,060 games in a row. Sterling was there for Yankees fans for 35 straight years, for 162 games each season and a slew of playoff games. If you were a Yankees fan, Sterling was a massive part of your life.

He was almost as big a part of the team as the players. That is why New York Daily News writer Bob Raissman gave Sterling and his radio partner Suzyn Waldman the nicknames "Ma and Pa Pinstripe." You could not have a better and more appropriate nickname. Not only were John and Suzyn the soundtrack of a Yankees fan's life, but they actually did feel like the mother and father of the team.

The streak, though, was just one reason Yankees fans felt a connection with Sterling. When you listened to Sterling call a game, you knew he was unique and authentic. He wasn't trying to act like a broadcaster and he wasn't following the rules of a baseball broadcaster. He was 100% himself. And he had a style like no other.

Most importantly, though, Sterling never forgot what so many in sports media forget: Sports is entertainment. Sports are not a serious thing in the grand scheme of life.

Sterling's most endearing and enduring quality was that he was always entertaining. Always. He made baseball fun for listeners.

He sang Broadway songs during games, he had nicknames and signature home run calls for every player, he would do a talk show in the middle of the game, he would get disgusted when the Yankees didn't play well and he would famously end every Bronx Bombers win with, "Ballgame over. Yankees win. Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees WIN!"

Sterling was truly one of a kind and if you are a Yankees fan, you were lucky to have him as part of your sports life for seven months a year.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Entertaining, Authentic and Unique: There Will Never Be Another John Sterling.

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