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Baseball World Mourns Death of John Sterling, Iconic Yankees Broadcaster

One of the all-time greats in the baseball community
Jackson Roberts|
John Sterling, Edgewater, NJ resident and the voice of the Yankees on radio on Aug. 17, 2012 in Bronx, New York.
John Sterling, Edgewater, NJ resident and the voice of the Yankees on radio on Aug. 17, 2012 in Bronx, New York. | Viorel Florescu/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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New York Yankees

"It is high, it is far, it is gone!"

New York Yankees fans can almost universally close their eyes and hear those words echo through their heads in John Sterling's voice, whether they're 10 years old or 100. Sadly, the legendary man who made those words iconic passed on. WFAN, the radio station for which Sterling called Yankees games for 36 years, announced the legendary broadcaster died at age 87 on Monday.

From all corners of the baseball community, messages of love and stories of Sterling's greatness have poured in constantly throughout Monday morning. It's as though the entire sport has taken a moment away from the action on the field to pay tribute to a titan of the game finally resting.

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Baseball community mourning Sterling on Monday

John Sterling
John Sterling, Edgewater, NJ resident and the voice of the Yankees on radio on Aug. 17, 2012 in Bronx, New York. | Viorel Florescu/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yankees media outlets and personalities have been at the forefront of the Sterling tributes, as one might expect. A post from the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast account on X had over 10,000 likes in just over an hour, while a humorous tribute from MLB.com beat reporter Bryan Hoch elicited a lot of smiles and laughs on the same platform.

Shortly after Sterling began to hit his stride, the Yankees created a new dynasty, winning World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2009 with the New York native on the call. For a boy who grew up in Manhattan listening to Yankees games on the radio, it was the culmination of a dream to call the last outs of those championships.

Yankees fans also knew Sterling for his quirks, of which there were plenty. He came up with some of the most creative, personalized home run calls for some of New York's sluggers, including "Bern, baby, Bern!" for Bernie Williams, "an A-bomb from A-Rod!" for Alex Rodriguez, and "Robbie Canó... don't ya know!" for Robinson Canó.

Sterling continued to broadcast until 2024, when he retired for most of the season in April, then returned to call games for the final week of the regular season and playoffs, stepping away from the microphone for good when the Yankees lost Game 5 of the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There will never be another John Sterling. The man deserves all the praise he's gotten on Monday, and his impact on the sport, especially on the league's most successful and iconic franchise, will never be forgotten.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Fastball On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@moreviewsmedia.com

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