A tribute to legendary Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling took place at Yankee Stadium on May 4, following his passing earlier that day. Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman, longtime broadcast partners of Sterling, laid flowers at home plate as a video montage played and the stadium scoreboard displayed an image of the empty radio booth with a single microphone.
During the first inning of that night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, Kay honored Sterling by using his signature home run call for Yankees captain Aaron Judge: “Here’s the pitch. High drive, right-center field. Going back Taveras. It is high, it is far, it is … gone! Aaron Judge! A Judgian blast! Here comes the Judge!” Later in the game, fans heard Sterling’s iconic victory celebration replayed over the stadium speakers: “Yankees win! Thuuuuuuh Yankeeeeees win!”
Judge said of Sterling, “He loved the Yankees. He loved this team. He loved this franchise. He loved the fans. Loved everybody he talked to on a nightly basis.” Waldman reflected on their partnership in broadcasting: “We were doing Yankees games for Yankees fans, and most of them are pretty sophisticated.”
Sterling called 5,060 consecutive Yankees games across 36 seasons—including every inning of Derek Jeter’s career—and was known for developing unique catchphrases such as “Bern, baby Bern” for Bernie Williams and his theatrical style in play-by-play announcing. Charley Steiner described him as having an “utterly unique” broadcasting style while emphasizing storytelling over statistics.
Aaron Boone recalled listening to baseball broadcasts as a child and said he often seeks out highlights just to hear how Sterling called big moments: “I’ve got to hear how John called this.” Emmanuel Berbari noted that meeting Sterling was inspiring both personally and professionally.
For the remainder of the 2026 season, players will wear a sleeve patch featuring Sterling’s name alongside a microphone and interlocking NY logo as an ongoing tribute. Kay concluded about his legacy: “John gave us all those great calls during that time… They’ll live forever.”
