Courtesy New York Newsday

(August 18, 2009) Someday, someone less interesting will preside over the Yankee Stadium radio booth, and fans who were young around the turn of the millennium doubtless will reminisce fondly about John Sterling.

They will recall the personalized home run calls, the drawn-out "thuuuuh'' heralding a Yankees victory, the wacky byplay with Suzyn Waldman, and mostly forgive the downsides of his shtick.

But that day is not today.

In his 21st season as the Yankees' voice, Sterling remains perhaps the most polarizing figure in New York sports media, a hot-button topic both loved and loathed - sometimes by the same people.

What does the man himself have to say about the phenomenon?

"What am I going to do?'' he said, sitting in an auxiliary booth before Tuesday's game. "The first time it happens in your life, it hurts. The second time, it hurts a little less.

"Now, after the 150,000th time, it hurts even less. So basically that's it. It's just a matter of pragmatism. Why bother? Why stew over that?''

Later, he added, "You'd like everyone to like you, but I don't think it's possible.''

Sterling repeatedly put up a thick-skinned front during a 30-minute chat, but several people who have been around him insist he is stung by criticism, even after all these years.

The most frequent complaint is his anticipating of plays, often wrongly. There even is a blog dedicated to him under the banner, "It is high, it is far, it is . . . caught.''

Valid criticism? "Yes, very much so,'' Sterling said. Yet he made no apologies.

"I always want to be ahead,'' he said. "When I did the Islanders [in the 1970s], if you hear any tapes, I said, 'Nystrom shoots, goal! Islander goal!' And I'd hit 'goal' before the crowd went nuts.

"So I do try to be out in front. I'll tell you how I learned that: From Phil Rizzuto. He was always out in front, especially when he began.'' (Rizzuto as a broadcasting role model? Holy cow!)

"There are people who broadcast play-by-play who do it behind, so they're never wrong,'' Sterling said. "If that's a knock, that I try to be ahead of the play, well, maybe it's like 'A-bomb from A-Rod.' I can find a hundred people who hate it, then I can find a thousand people who like it.''

At times, though, Sterling misjudges so spectacularly that it appears he is having trouble seeing the ball. Is his eyesight an issue? "No, no,'' he said.

Sterling also takes an unconventional, uneven approach to mundane parts of the job, such as updating the score and describing action.

"Look, you always want to improve, always want to get better,'' he said. "When you get knocked for saying something wrong, I mean, I do something wrong every game! Are you kidding? You're speaking extemporaneously for four hours.''

Whatever your opinion of him, Sterling clearly has helped promote and expand the Yankees brand with his widely replayed calls, and there is no evidence his employers - CBS Radio, with the team's approval - have tired of him.

Fans? "The feedback I get is instant, from people on the streets, every single day of my life,'' he said. "Now you can peek out right here . They come over and say the greatest things, 50, 60 people every game!''

Sterling, who declined to reveal his age, has not missed a game in 21 seasons and said he never lacks for energy. He needs it, because he has an 11-year-old daughter and 9-year-old triplets - two boys and a girl - at home.

So how long does he plan to do this?

"The rest of my life,'' he said. "I guess I have great stamina, energy and a very good immune system, my wife tells me. And I love what I do.''

Sterling said he feels no pressure to be pro-Yankees, even though he usually is. He believes criticism of Waldman and him partly is collateral damage from the Yankees being "so hated'' in many quarters.

As for his legacy, Sterling pointed to Mel Allen, now viewed as the consummate voice of the Yankees, but in his time a target of critics himself.

"When I was a kid, I loved the Yankees and I loved Mel Allen,'' he said, then recalled Allen quirks that he and his friends mocked and repeated.

"They didn't have [sports media] columns then, but Mel Allen got knocked for a lot of the things he did. But I didn't mind it. I still loved Mel Allen.''

blog comments powered by Disqus

Accerlerate Your Sports Broadcasting Career

Meet Employers

Secrets Revealed

Radio Demos, Resumes

TV Demos, Resumes

Sports Broadcasting Books

Sportscastings Jobs

Show Prep Links