John Sterling Home Runs - Yankees (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

I don't know how many of you get the Yankee games on radio but around here even if you're not a Yankee fan, you want to listen to John Sterling, the Yankees announcer on WCBS 880 in New York because he makes up a distinctive call for each Yankee whenever that players hits a home run.

For example, when Alex Rodriguez hits one, he'll say "it's an A Bomb from A Rod!" He's got a great shtick going.

Here are some samples:

 

[Louis Badolato]

I am a lifelong Yankee fan, and I hate John Sterling's calls with a passion. He is the worst play by play announcer in the history of baseball. He gets at least two or three calls wrong every game (he'll say a ball is gone when it is caught on the warning track, or that a line drive is a hit when it was caught by the infielder) because he is blind as a bat. And his signature home run calls are just plain stupid. I hate when I am stuck in the car and have to listen to him.

I also hate the Yankees primary television announcer, Michael Kay, who is so opinionated it is insufferably annoying, and Al Leiter, who is up every pitcher's butt (he'll tell you a pitch in the batters box caught the corner, and every time a batter removes his bat from his shoulder, it should have been called a swinging strike). I would kill to have Jim Kaat back, alongside Kenny Singleton (the only reason to listen to the broadcasts today) and the late great Bobby Mercer.

 

[jazzeum]

He does get the calls wrong and I've heard Yankee fans call in complaining that he doesn't tell the listeners the score often enough, but, c'mon on, you have to laugh, when you hear those HR calls. I get a kick out of them. My son, who's a huge football fan but not a baseball fan, loves them. If he hears Russell Martin being mentioned, he'll go "Russell with muscle" or if it's Granderson, he'll sing "The Grandyman Can!" ^&grin

 

[theBaron]

Harry Kalas--'nuff said.

 

[Peter Reuss]

I'm thankful to have Bob Ueker out my way! Classic!

 

[theBaron]

I miss Ralph Kiner. These are my favorite Kinerisms:

On a reliever warming up before coming in - "He's throwing up in the bullpen"

On a runner stretching a single into a double - "He slides into second with a stand-up double!"

and this one is the best:

"On this Father's Day, we'd like to take this opportunity to wish all you fathers a Happy Birthday"

 

[jazzeum]

The one thing Sterling and Calas (and probably Uecker) have in common is that they're homers.

You mention Ralph Kiner. Ralph is a great broadcaster, basically retired but he does show up to do a couple of innings occasionally.

Back in the mid 80s when the Mets started to get good again, they had an incredible broadcasting crew, the best that I've ever heard. Kiner, McCarver and Steve Zabriskie did the games on TV. The conversations that Ralph and Timmy would have were simply nothing short of amazing. They were a little too critical for management's liking and, unfortunately, only Ralph survived. After all he and Murph were an institution and you couldn't get rid of them. Now, on the radio side, you had Gary Thorne and Bob Murphy. I'm telling you couldn't get any better than that. Later after Thorne moved on, Gary Cohen came in and he is very good. No homers in this crew. The closest that Murph would come to homerism is when the Mets won, he would say "back with the happy recap." God, I miss those guys.

 

[pugio]

John is nothing without Susan...

 

[jazzeum]

John is nothing without Susan...

Andy, who can forget the call she made when Clemens appeared in Steinbrenner's box a few years ago. The guys on WFAN ribbed her incessantly.

 

[pugio]

Andy, who can forget the call she made when Clemens appeared in Steinbrenner's box a few years ago. The guys on WFAN ribbed her incessantly.

Brad, when Carton on "The Fan" does his impressions of her, especially the one with the sexual sound-bites of her and Sterling, I have to pull over to the side of the road, if I'm driving... Laugh so hard...

 

[jazzeum]

Andy,

He does pick on her a lot. Did you ever hear him when he called in pretending to be that guy Joe D, the big Yankee fan. That was pretty funny. Joe D absolutely hates him. It's pretty fun when he calls and gets into an argument with him or Evan and Joe.

Anyway, Swisher hit one last night so I'm sure the radio listeners were treated to a "Swisalicious" call.

 

[Warrior]

I remember when Joe Torre stepped down as the Yankees manager and she was blubbering on the air, they carpet bombed the local talk show radio station up here with that sound bite, it never got old and they must have played it 4,324 times.............her and Sterling both have a face for radio, I'll give both of them that...........

 

[jazzeum]

She's an ex Red Sox fan from Boston. I never got that.