John Sterling - How the Mighty Fall
"It is high... it is farrrrr... it issssss........ CAUGHT in shallow left field. Now Susan, from where we are sitting that ball looked like it was gone."
"Yes, John. The wind must have kept that one in the park."
Growing up on Long Island, I was one of the few kids my age without cable television. This meant that from early April through September, and as I got to my teenage years October, I spent a good deal of my evenings with John Sterling and Michael Kay. These two, of course, were the radio play-by-play announcers for the Yankees during the part of my childhood that I remember. Yes, that puts me in my mid-20's and no, I will not be comparing them to the great Mel Allen.
I remember running back and forth from my room to my parents' room after a home run call or a great play in the field to re-live it with my Dad and brother (who usually had the same agenda as me). Whether it was Sterling's drawn out excitement, Kay's "see ya!" or either of the two of them making up a word ("Jeterian"), I felt like they really brought the game to me at home.
As I grew up, got married and - more importantly - got cable, I started to watch and follow a lot more baseball than just the Yankees. I learned of people such as Mel Allen, Jack Buck, Ernie Harwell and Vin Scully and phrases such as, "shot heard round the world," "I don't believe what I just saw," and "The Giants win the pennant," and began to realize that Sterling and Kay were far from the greatest of all time. However, they were the baseball voices of my youth and therefore will always rank up there with anyone else. There is something special about the guys who bring you baseball when you are a kid. It was always there, almost every night for 6 months - excitement, entertainment and most importantly a rooting interest. Sterling and Kay provided this to me for most of the years I lived in my parents' home.
Along came the creation of the YES network and Michael Kay bolts for TV. Probably a good move. The two personalities couldn't BOTH be the "voice of the Yankees." Now, in a way, with one on TV and one on Radio, they could be. Kay surrounded himself with great people - Singleton, Mercer, O'Neil - and has looked great because of it. Sterling, on the other hand, got stuck with Charlie Steiner and Suzyn Waldman. Sterling and Steiner had no chemistry and listening to them was not a good experience. Waldman, annoying as she is, at least seems to flow well with Sterling. Except there is a more important issue which I have eluded to with my two quotes to begin this post - Sterling is losing it and fast.
John Sterling still has the voice and the enthusiasm. It is still as exciting as ever to hear him call a home run or big play, BUT, he gets it wrong way too often. He can no longer read the field and see the play develop. There are noticeable delays after the crack of the bat as he tries to figure out where the ball will end up and the few times he is on time, he misjudges badly. He repeats himself way too often - "Now I challenge anyone to figure out baseball" is a phrase that surfaces at least once a night, if not more. It's like he's given up. It's the same shtick every game.
While I watch most games on TV these days, i will often get caught leaving work late and will listen to the radio play-by-play during my one hour plus commute home. I used to enjoy these broadcasts and actually experience the game through them. No more. I now feel like I tune in as I would to the internet game casts, just to see what's happening. It is sad really. Maybe it's time for some new blood and a new era in Yankee radio. The Yankees as a team have finally begun to bring in some youth and re-invent their personality as a team, maybe it's time for the same on the radio.
Then again, every once in a while I'll be driving over the Throgsneck Bridge on my way home from work and I'll hear a perfectly timed Sterling home run call - "Giambi has worked the count full. Schilling looks in. Schilling sets. It'll be a 3-2 to Giambi... CRACK! ... There it goes deeeeep to right. That ball is high, it is farrrrr, it issss GONNNE! [Roar of the Crowd]..... Upper Deck! .....[Stadium music kicks in].... And the Yankees take a 2 run lead on a 3 run Jason Giambi blast to right. The Giambino!"
I grab my cell phone from next to me and dial up my Dad too see if he heard the call.
"Yes, John. The wind must have kept that one in the park."
Growing up on Long Island, I was one of the few kids my age without cable television. This meant that from early April through September, and as I got to my teenage years October, I spent a good deal of my evenings with John Sterling and Michael Kay. These two, of course, were the radio play-by-play announcers for the Yankees during the part of my childhood that I remember. Yes, that puts me in my mid-20's and no, I will not be comparing them to the great Mel Allen.
I remember running back and forth from my room to my parents' room after a home run call or a great play in the field to re-live it with my Dad and brother (who usually had the same agenda as me). Whether it was Sterling's drawn out excitement, Kay's "see ya!" or either of the two of them making up a word ("Jeterian"), I felt like they really brought the game to me at home.
As I grew up, got married and - more importantly - got cable, I started to watch and follow a lot more baseball than just the Yankees. I learned of people such as Mel Allen, Jack Buck, Ernie Harwell and Vin Scully and phrases such as, "shot heard round the world," "I don't believe what I just saw," and "The Giants win the pennant," and began to realize that Sterling and Kay were far from the greatest of all time. However, they were the baseball voices of my youth and therefore will always rank up there with anyone else. There is something special about the guys who bring you baseball when you are a kid. It was always there, almost every night for 6 months - excitement, entertainment and most importantly a rooting interest. Sterling and Kay provided this to me for most of the years I lived in my parents' home.
Along came the creation of the YES network and Michael Kay bolts for TV. Probably a good move. The two personalities couldn't BOTH be the "voice of the Yankees." Now, in a way, with one on TV and one on Radio, they could be. Kay surrounded himself with great people - Singleton, Mercer, O'Neil - and has looked great because of it. Sterling, on the other hand, got stuck with Charlie Steiner and Suzyn Waldman. Sterling and Steiner had no chemistry and listening to them was not a good experience. Waldman, annoying as she is, at least seems to flow well with Sterling. Except there is a more important issue which I have eluded to with my two quotes to begin this post - Sterling is losing it and fast.
John Sterling still has the voice and the enthusiasm. It is still as exciting as ever to hear him call a home run or big play, BUT, he gets it wrong way too often. He can no longer read the field and see the play develop. There are noticeable delays after the crack of the bat as he tries to figure out where the ball will end up and the few times he is on time, he misjudges badly. He repeats himself way too often - "Now I challenge anyone to figure out baseball" is a phrase that surfaces at least once a night, if not more. It's like he's given up. It's the same shtick every game.
While I watch most games on TV these days, i will often get caught leaving work late and will listen to the radio play-by-play during my one hour plus commute home. I used to enjoy these broadcasts and actually experience the game through them. No more. I now feel like I tune in as I would to the internet game casts, just to see what's happening. It is sad really. Maybe it's time for some new blood and a new era in Yankee radio. The Yankees as a team have finally begun to bring in some youth and re-invent their personality as a team, maybe it's time for the same on the radio.
Then again, every once in a while I'll be driving over the Throgsneck Bridge on my way home from work and I'll hear a perfectly timed Sterling home run call - "Giambi has worked the count full. Schilling looks in. Schilling sets. It'll be a 3-2 to Giambi... CRACK! ... There it goes deeeeep to right. That ball is high, it is farrrrr, it issss GONNNE! [Roar of the Crowd]..... Upper Deck! .....[Stadium music kicks in].... And the Yankees take a 2 run lead on a 3 run Jason Giambi blast to right. The Giambino!"
I grab my cell phone from next to me and dial up my Dad too see if he heard the call.
posted by EDS | 12:30 PM
8 Comments:
When Kay first started in TV, he was terrible. He was doing radio calls on TV, and would describe things we could plainly see, and didn't need him to talk over.
He's a little better now, but the only person worth listening to even a little in the Yankees booth is Jim Kaat. Everyone else has fallen into a despicable pattern of cliches and platitudes that mean nothing. And I absolutely HATE that they read every graphic that shows up on the screen. Don't read, interpret. Add something. Tell me why that stat matters, not just what it is. They all do this, even Kaat. It's so infuriating. I can read. I listen to you so you can explain.
And the stuff they talk about in between pitches? It's the same every game. I feel like I'm watching someone play a video game with pre-recorded play-by-play and color.
I caught a little bit of a Met game on SportsNetNY this week (during a Yankee rainout). Gary Cohen is still awesome, though he's still coming out of his radio mold. At least he varies the way he describes things. Kay never does.
Sorry for the rant, this has been building up inside me for a while.
I'm Just Curious if you listen to Opie & Anthony cause they have been ranting on this for about 2 years........just wondering
I used to be a big fan. I actually stopped listening when they were thrown off regular radio and never jumped on board with XM. I am a Howard Stern fan these days. Started listening a few years back and have since gone to Sirius Radio when he made the switch.
I was a big O&A fan though. What did they have to say on this topic? I guess they weren't onto this yet when they left regular radio. I'd love to hear it if you care to write it out.
how is stern on sirius? i miss him ever since he left krock in january - d
awesome. my commute is over an hour to work each way - makes the drive fly by. 2 channels of just stern stuff. it's great.
certainly worth the 12 bucks a month or whatever it is.
Over the past year, the boys and Jimmy Norton have just railed on Sterling for his over the top stupidity. They play the clip from time to time and always bring up the "Giambino" call....it is hysterical to hear what kin of ass he is.
I agree completely
i used to think of sterling as a second father at least when i was listening to 770 (now 880) on the radio (i too had and still have no cable) now i think of him as...well..a retard
I can't stand that woman announcer. She has no business in baseball
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