Admitting you like John Sterling on the radio, or at least considering yourself entertained, is regarded as suicidal in many circles.
So excuse me while I swan dive into a bowl of taco sauce.
Sterling is a perfect target for media critics and fans who already think of the Yankees as the evil empire. Sterling brings a lot of it upon himself with his too often casual regard for the facts and his self-promoting shrills when the Yankees hit home runs.
But I'm here to tell you that's not so bad. Given a choice between Sterling's "It is high, it is far, it is gone" home run call (provided the ball actually clears the fence) and a more reserved call, I'm opting for John.
Just as I laughed more than I cried when Rizzuto was handing out birthday wishes between pop-ups and sampling any free food he was given before he was on the George Washington Bridge after the seventh inning, most of the time I'm entertained by Sterling's antics.
At least the man is enthusiastic, although it would help if he were a bit more informative. Telling me if a third strike was called or the hitter swung and missed shouldn't be too much to ask. Sometimes Sterling is more loose with the facts than a credit company looking to increase its interest rates.
Warts and all, Sterling is just fine for me. Now I can get back to my tacos.I can't say that Sterling is good, because he really isn't, but if I'm in my car or not by a TV I really don't mind listening to him at all. Sure, he'll drive you crazy with his "It is high... it is far.... it is.... caught on the warning track," but at the end of the day I don't mind him as much as other people do.
Of the Yankees' broadcaster I think Kenny Singleton is clearly the best, he's good analyst, and when Michael Kay isn't in the booth he does a very good job doing play-by-play. To me Kay talks way too much, doesn't know the game as well as he thinks he does, and I'm especially getting tired of him asking the same stupid questions over and over and over again. I don't mind any of the Yankees analysts, Coney and Flash have gotten a lot better, O'Neill is funny to listen to, and Lieter knows his stuff too. I still miss Jim Kaat, though, he was great. And thanks to Mike B. for mentioning and reminding me about Bobby Murcer, I miss him too. I grew up listening to him Rizzuto - who was also great - and Tom Seaver on WPIX.
As much as I hate to say it the Mets have two very good analysts in Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling. I'm not a fan of Gary Cohen at all, but Darling and Hernandez are very enjoyable to listen too. Darling is a great analyst and Hernandez is hilarious.
What do you think of John Sterling, love him, hate him? And also rank your favorite NY sports broadcasters, and include other sports if you'd like. Speaking of which, I think Mike Breen is the best broadcaster in the city.
33 Comments:
I dont mind him. I dislike Michael Kay more than Sterling.
I don't like Sterling but I can tolerate him. Who has to go though is Waldman!
kay and sterling: i think they both suck!
Suzyn Waldman drives me nuts.
Suzyn Waldman is horrible!
quickest way to get someone to kill themselves...have them listen to a conversation between Suzan Waldman and Hillory Clinton.
Don't knock Sterling. Compared to Red Sox radio, he's the voice of God.
Sterling and Kay were a great team.
Cone, O'Neil and Leiter are good but Flash isn't to bright. Singleton is OK but never a Yankee!
Waldman makes John look bad. She repeats EVERYTHING he says. "Tries to do to much" a hundred times a game.
No mention of Suzan Waldman? I want to jam forks into my ears whenever I have to listen to her.
I understand why they keep Sterling, but for the love of God - show pity on your listeners WABC and fire Waldman.
i love sterling, coney, and o'neill. singleton and flash are fine but boring. i loved when sterling was with kay on radio. kaat was superb.
living in VA and being a subscriber to MLB extra innings - you really come to appreciate Kay & Co. Singleton Oneil Cone very good. I enjoy Streling, doesn't take it too seriously-but could do without Wadlman. Listen to other broadcasters-and you'll learn to like what you have.
I wouldn't care about Sterling's level of dumbness if he would actually relate the events on the field to the listener properly. Problem is, he doesn't, and so you only ever sort of have a vague idea of what is going on.
Sterling is hit or miss. He has some good catch phrases like Wouldnt you know robbie cano...but also has some horrible ones like an A-bomb from A-Rod... But I do enjoy tha yankees win...thaaaa yankees win. I think he's still prob better than most out there. Hard to describe everything you see on the field perfectly to the listener. I have no major objections to Waldman but they could prob find a little more personality to compliment Sterling better.
I agree with above. Sterling is fine to me but Suzyn Waldman needs to go. It's embarassing that she is one of the voices of Yankee baseball.
I love John Sterlings call.
He gets excited about the yankees doing well, and it comes through in his commentary. As a devoted yankee fan, I am all for that, and I am glad we dont have a call by someone who could care less, which so many teams have. Listen to other broadcasts before you judge Sterling so harshly.
For all his foibles in calling the actual game, he is very entertaining, and that is not easy on radio. "ThaaaaPitch..."
I would however be an advocate of replacing Suzyn Waldman, she really gets boring. Besides that, I just don't like her voice for radio. Its to monotone and brutish.
Perhaps a former yankee would be good... I quite like Coney, I think he would be great on the radio.
Bentton, I thought you liked Kay.
I really dislike Sterling, Kay, and Waldman. They are the worst of the worst in my opinion.
Sterling was fired after one year with the Braves, right? Or was it a bit more than one year?
I like Ken, but I sure do miss Bobby Murcer....
I just got back from fishing in Canada, and I see the Yankes have a nice winning record now. What happened when I was gone??? Not that I'm complaining....
Mike
I dont mind Sterling, but Kay kills me, he'll repeat the same thing 3 or 4 times in a row. In the last game against the Phillies, I felt like he said "Melky Cabrera king of the walk off" so many times in such a short period. I find Kay annoying because I am also very superstitious when it comes to a game and we all know what a jinx he is. Often times when listening to the games, I have to cover my ears in a big spot just so i dont hear him jinx it.
Mike Breen is great, its a shame Marv Albert isn't with the knicks anymore either. But the two best announcers in the NY metro area are Doc Emerick (Devils) and Sam Rosen (Rangers). First off the game is ridiculously fast, and the names for the majority of the hockey players are very tough. Both these men, especially Emerick, are a pleasure to listen to.
I can't argue with that simply because I don't watch hockey.
HaHa imagine Madden calling a baseball game Hahahaha
Anon-
You are right, Emerick and Sam are the best
Howie Rose isnt bad either
Anyone know any sites where you can listen to some of his horrible but funny calls?
Jenny, I'm sure you can find a bunch on YouTube.
i mean, kay is ok. but i don't really particularly like listening to him during a game. idk, like it's just something about listening to him on tv, and sterling on the radio that makes me go "ugh!"
I definitely don't like John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman sucks REAL BAD, and David Cone talks to the audience like you would talk to a 5 year old to get him/her interested in the conversation. Ken S and Flash are good enough for me, but I usually don't listen to the commentary anyway.
I thought the Sterling-Kay pairing was pretty good, tho a bit weird. Rizzuto-Messer-White was very informative & entertaining for a lot of years. When Seaver paired with Rizzuto it was the round peg & square box. The best radio crew came during two years in the early 1990s when the Yankees were really horrible-- Hank Greenwald and Tommy Hutton. Anyone else remember them? That was a great matchup.
Nowadays, Waldman is maybe the single worst announcer I have ever heard. Nails on the blackboard. I never minded Sterling's 'shtick', but I think he's going blind or something because he is always miscalling the plays, which drives me absolutely stark-raving mad. On YES, I am very glad Leiter is being more assertive, he's a smart guy and he comes across very well. O'Neill is becoming a parody of himself, but he's harmless. I like Flash, but he needs to loosen up. Kay could spend the whole game in the booth and not say a word & no one would miss him. I like Cone just as he is, but I keep waiting for him to let it all hang out-- you know there is a wild man inside there somewhere. Kenny Singleton is the best, period. And I miss Kitty too, he was great.
Hank Greenwald and Tommy Hutton were doing the Yankees' radio gig in 1987 & 1988, I just looked it up. Slightly faulty memory on my part.
Put it this way: I'm not a fan of Sterling, but I am one of the Yankees, so if I'm stuck in the car, I HAVE to listen.
Secondly, I've spent my life working on the radio - with five years in sports, and IMO, there's just too many announcers "mailing it in" too often. Broadcasting is a cake job and "the pros" make it an even "cakeier" one when they miss calls, facts, and give the wrong info all because they failed to do enough research or were too busy entertaining when they should have been informing.
I agree with the majority of posters here. Sterling might drive you crazy, but there are just some times when he's the only option. At least he has enthusiasm.
I like Kay, but he too often seems bored with the game, constantly going back to those same, tired and simplistic questions.
Ken is well-spoken and knowledgeable, but never wearing Pinstripes hurts a lot.
My favorite is Al Leiter. I think he's usually the most informative analyst, and you can tell by his delivery how excited he is about his job and the game.
I like Sterling. He's passionate and his home run call is one of my favorites. Sure, he makes mistakes, but like others have said, its better than having some guy make no mistakes but drone on with facts and information. Sterling gets excited and calls the game as he sees it. I have no problem with that. Waldman, on the other hand, is atrocious. I would rather listen to fingernails slowly grating on a school blackboard than hear her talk about something is usually either obvious or just plain absurd.
Rizzuto-Messer-White. Now we're talking! I'd put Bobby Murcer into that mix, too!
Mike
Sterling is HORRIBLE! He's overly simplistic, terribly inaccurate, has his own agenda, his catch phrases are pre-conceived, not very clever and downright obnoxious!!
Waldman is so bad its not even worth commenting on her.
Kay is self absorbed..
And worst of all, they're all shills for the team.
Coney, O'Neill, Leiter are good...
Kaat was the best and worst of all he contacted YES to come back and they said NO!!!!
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