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The Yankee Stadium crowd changed its usual chant for Monday night’s series finale against the Baltimore Orioles to honor a man as legendary as the team’s long history.
The chants of John Sterling, the longtime broadcaster for the New York Yankees, roared from the cool seats in the Bronx on a sad Monday for baseball fans in the tri-state, and even the country.
Joe Girardi was among those mourning the loss of an iconic voice they had the pleasure of knowing as a player, manager and media partner during his baseball career. Like many, Sterling’s impact was one that Girardi felt immediately, which is why there was only one emotion when he heard the news.
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Former New York Yankees player and manager Joe Girardi reflected on his relationship with the late John Sterling, the legendary radio host who died at the age of 87. (GETTY)
“It’s just sad because I know how much he meant to the organization, to the Yankees, to me, [and] to people,” Girardi, who serves as an analyst for YES Yankees, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Monday.
“I’ve always loved being around people who have a lot of passion for what they do. John really had that. He was gifted, but he was really passionate. Because of that, his example was great. I miss him. I miss hearing him on the radio because there are many times when I go and I’ll put a game on the radio. I have SiriusXM radio and I listen to the games. I miss him and I miss Suzyn. [Waldman].”
Waldman, Sterling’s longtime partner on WFAN Sports Radio, was one of those Girardi spoke to Monday after hearing the news.
YANKEES RADIO ICON JOHN STERLING DIES AT 87
“He said something that really touched me about John. He goes, ‘John did what he wanted to do and he didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do.’ You think about living your life – that’s the good life,” Girardi explained. “I think about the things I do that I don’t want to do, but I do them anyway. That wasn’t John Sterling. He lived his life to the fullest. He enjoyed it, he enjoyed being with people, and he was ready to go and do his job. He brought life to your family room, or your car, wherever he was and whatever he was doing.”
For 64 years, Sterling was in the broadcasting industry, but he left his mark on one of the most iconic organizations in all of sports when he joined the Yankees in 1989 and did not leave his position until April 2024.
Even then, Sterling returned to the radio booth to cover the Yankees’ postseason as they returned to the World Series for the first time since Girardi’s 2009 team swept the Philadelphia Phillies.
It was during his time as manager that Girardi said he remembers his favorite interactions with Sterling that were true to the unique character and person he was.
New York Yankees radio announcer John Sterling welcomes the Old Timers Day event before the game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York City on July 30, 2022. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
“I think it’s the interaction that I miss the most, and it was the focus of my work obviously. I was the manager of the Yankees and John was doing the pregame,” Girardi began. “We do it every day and John would have his old tape recorder, and he’d have his phone with him. We’re in the middle of an interview and he stops the tape. He takes his phone out of his pocket, turns it on because they were flip phones back then. He says, ‘Darling, I’m making a manager’s plan. I’ll call you in three minutes.’ I think, ‘Who did that?’ He beats his drum so hard, he stopped in the middle of the show, and I believe we started over. But that call was obviously very important to him. When I think about it today, and this was many years ago, I still laugh today. This was at the beginning of my career as a manager because Suzyn took over, and I’m always laughing. That was John Sterling.”
Sterling was also known for his signature home run calls, something Girardi and many others waited to hear when a player would hit one over the fence.
They always start with, “High, far, far away!” before breaking out into a catchy phrase, or even a song. To Alex Rodriguez, “It’s an A-bomb from A-Rod,” or more recently “Here comes the judge!” when Aaron the Judge sounded the sound.
“You always want to know what that’s going to be,” Girardi added. “And I was thinking, ‘How do you come up with that?’ He was very creative – I was not given that gene. He was so creative, I always wondered what he was thinking about, how long it took him to think about it, and he never missed a beat. Some guy was called and knocked at home on the second day? He had it. There was.”
FILE – In this Sept. 25, 2009 file photo, New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling sits in the dugout before the Yankees’ baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in New York. Sterling was helped out of his flooded car by Spanish radio personality Rickie Ricardo on Wednesday night, September 1, 2021, after Sterling got stuck trying to drive home after the game. Sterling and Ricardo both called the New York at Los Angeles Angels game from Yankee Stadium because the radio crew has not continued to travel with the team as part of the COVID-19 protocols. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun, File)
Girardi admitted that now that he’s older he appreciates how gifted and talented Sterling was, and the grind he went through over the years that cost 162 games through spring training and multiple postseasons.
But more valuable to Girardi than the accolades, the signing calls and the 5,060 consecutive games called was the care he had for everyone he met.
“What you saw was how much he cared about you as an individual and how much he cared about you, it was successful,” said Girardi. “That was the wonderful thing about John: he wanted you to win again so the Yankees could win. It meant something to him. It wasn’t just him doing a job. This was a big part of his life, and the joy it brought him, you could see it.”
The old saying is do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
For Girardi, Sterling did more than that.
New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling talks to Aaron Judge before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium in New York on April 20, 2024. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)
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“He was an example of how you should live,” he said. “Find what you love and do it as long as you can. Joe Torre used to say, ‘Never take your uniform off until they take it off.’ That was John Sterling.
“That’s the sign of a man who really loves what he’s doing. That’s an example we should all look up to.”
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