Sheppard: No plans to return to Yankees. . . but still not retired
Bob Sheppard refused to use the word "retired,'' even at age 99 and with no plans to return to work for the Yankees.
"But,'' he acknowledged yesterday, "I don't intend at this moment to see myself back as a public address announcer at Yankee Stadium, feeling the way I do now.''
Sheppard has not worked since late in the 2007 season because of health issues and told Newsday last month that his contract expires in February 2010.
He has inched closer and closer to acknowledging his unofficial retirement this year, but in an interview with MLB.com that was posted early yesterday, he went a step further than he previously had, saying, "I have no plans of coming back.''
Reached at his Baldwin home, Sheppard hedged, but only slightly, saying, "It wasn't a resignation. It wasn't quitting. It wasn't throwing in the glove.''
So he isn't ruling out a future return?
Sheppard laughed.
"Let me start from the bottom: I am now 99 years old,'' he said. "I don't think a man 99 years old goes back to work after two years of separation.''
For decades, Sheppard adamantly had refused to discuss or confirm his age publicly. Why now? "It's been in the paper,'' he said. "It's been in Sports Illustrated. It's no secret.''
Sheppard, who began with the Yankees in 1951 and also worked for decades for the Giants and St. John's, suffered from a bronchial infection in '07 that dropped his weight as low as 103 pounds - 62 below what he weighed as a quarterback for St. John's 80 years ago.
"Now I'm up to 136 pounds,'' he said. "The doctor said, 'You're not going to be cured and cleared until you're 145 pounds.''
He suffered a further physical setback in March of this year when he fell down some steps and suffered bruises.
In his interview with MLB.com, Sheppard explained why even a single appearance in the PA booth for old times' sake might be too much for him.
"It's not just the two hours or three hours of baseball,'' he said. "It's the trip, the preparation, the trip home and a long, long day. I think at my age, it's time to accept the fact that I had a great run. A great run. And I only made a few mistakes along the way.''
Sheppard said the Yankees have not contacted him about returning to work and noted that they hired Paul Olden as a replacement. But he said it is a moot point because he has not been physically up to it for the past two years.
"I loved it while I did it, while I was able to do it, but I'm not sure I could do it now even if they said they wanted me to,'' he told Newsday.
"As far as I'm concerned, the Yankees made a professional choice in getting Paul Olden to fill in. And he has been good to me. He gives me a call every couple of weeks or so just to touch base . . . Listening to the radio and listening to his voice in the background, the Yankees made a reasonable selection.''
Sheppard said he was "thrilled'' by the Yankees' world championship, but he has not been to the new stadium, where a recording of his voice still introduces Derek Jeter's at-bats. He hopes to visit in 2010 if he is up to it physically.
"I'd like to go up and look at it,'' he said. "They tell me there is a Bob Sheppard dining room there.''
Would he like to check out the fare?
Said Sheppard, "If the price is right.''
