John Sterling to cut back on travel for Yankees games
Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling prior to a game against the Mets at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 4, 2016. Credit: Jim McIsaac
John Sterling, the Yankees’ longtime radio play-by-play man, will cut back significantly on his travel for the rest of this season, he confirmed on Monday.
Sterling, who turns 84 next month, cited a desire to be on the road less, following a pattern set by other veteran baseball announcers around the country, including the Mets’ Howie Rose.
“I’ve been traveling nonstop for 52 years,” Sterling told Newsday. “I am tired of traveling, but not tired of the games, especially the way things are going this year . . . Let me put it this way: The games are the easiest thing I do. Everything else is tough.”
Asked how many games he expects to miss, Sterling said he does not know, but he hinted it would be in the range of 25-30.
Sterling planned to fly to Minnesota on Monday for the Yankees’ series against the Twins, but for the most part he intends only to do nearby road trips such as to Boston, Baltimore and Citi Field. The New York Post was the first to report Sterling’s new schedule.
He said he plans to call all of the Yankees’ postseason games if they qualify.
Rose, 68, is skipping the Mets’ most distant road trips this season as he recovers from a medical procedure last year, but he said he was considering cutting back on travel even before that.
Audacy, the parent company for WFAN, has not announced who will fill in for Sterling. Ryan Ruocco, Chris Carrino and Rickie Ricardo, the Yankees’ Spanish-language radio play-by-play man, recently have filled in for Sterling when he has missed games. He missed his first in 30 years in 2019.
Jake Eisenberg, a young announcer from Port Washington, has been filling in for Rose.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
