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Sheppard hopes to return for Yankee Stadium finale

Jim Baumbach

12:44 PM EDT, September 4, 2008

Everyone knows the only fitting way to close Yankee Stadium is with Bob Sheppard returning to be the public-address announcer for the final game. His health has kept him from doing a single Yankees game this season - which would have been his 58th - but rest assured he has visions of returning for the finale.

"If I can be there, I shall be there."

That's what he said by phone Thursday morning from his Baldwin home, and he spoke those words using the same tone, diction and precise pronunciation that became synonymous with Yankee Stadium many decades ago. He was jovial and upbeat during our 10-minute conversation, sounding no different than he has for decades.

"The doctor is questioning my stamina," Sheppard said. Then he repeated the word stamina while slowly and carefully annunciating all three syllables. "Sta-min-a."

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"In other words, can I leave my home in Baldwin at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and get home at midnight and not suffer any relapse?"

Sheppard, who has steadfastly refused to reveal his age but is believed to be in his late 90s, missed the playoffs last season with bronchitis. His weight subsequently dropped, leading to a hospital stay in the winter. Ever since he has been recovering at home, with the goal always being to return to work at Yankee Stadium. (The Yankees signed Sheppard to a two-year contract before the season.)

"Each day I'm getting a little bit better," Sheppard said. "Each day from January until now there has been an improvement in my weight, in my stamina, and in my outlook."

The hard part now is staying home from work. "Mentally, emotionally, intellectually, I'm ready," he said. "But the doctor says whether I'm deficient is in stamina."

How does someone improve his stamina? That's what Sheppard recently asked his doctor.

"He said, 'How many steps between your ground floor and your upstairs bedrooms?' I said 15 steps. He said, 'Go up and down those 15 times a day. That will build up your stamina!' " he said, laughing some more. "I haven't done it yet. I mean, I go up and down normally, the way you do in your place, wherever you live. The 15 steps is not a problem. But to do it 15 times a day would be a little much at this stage."

So, really, the only thing Sheppard can do is wait and see. And there are other options. Sheppard said his backup Jim Hall, who has filled in for Sheppard all season, is willing to sit by his side during the final game. "And if I begin to get too tired, he would be my relief speaker, like a relief pitcher," he said.

Barring a miracle finish by the Yankees that gets them into the postseason, the final game at Yankee Stadium will be played two weeks from Sunday. Every time he leaves the house for the past few months, it seems he runs into another Yankees fan that asks him about his work plans.

Sheppard wants you to know he's trying his best.

"In church in the morning when Mary and I go to mass, people always say, 'When are you going back? When are you going back?'

"If I'm shopping with my wife at Waldbaum's, they say, 'When are you going back? When are you going back?'

"I say, 'When I'm ready!'

"That's the only answer I can give you, and the readers of Newsday."