Yankees pay tribute to ‘iconic’ John Sterling during, after win

NEW YORK — For the past two seasons, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has celebrated each victory with a line familiar to baseball fans.

“I always do this and my coaches look at me like I’m crazy,” Boone said Monday. “I don’t even know if they know what I’m doing. But as soon as the final out is made and I stand up to shake the players’ hands, I say, ‘Game over!’ The Yankees win! You, the Yankees win! “And I shake hands with all my coaches. I got goosebumps thinking about that.”

John Sterling used that call to punctuate every Yankees victory on the air as the team’s radio voice over part of 36 seasons to cap a broadcasting career that spanned six decades. It has become, along with Sterling’s personalized home run calls, synonymous with his eccentric style. The beloved play-by-play broadcaster died Monday in a New Jersey hospital a few months after undergoing heart surgery following a heart attack. He was 87 years old.

“A giant in this sport,” Boone said before the Yankees faced the Baltimore Orioles. “He did it his way. He walked his own pace as much as he could and it’s truly one of a kind. And a sad day, but also a day where we can celebrate an iconic figure.”

The Yankees, wearing Sterling’s initials “JS” stitched on the back of their caps, honored Sterling with a moment of silence before Monday’s game. Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman, two of Sterling’s broadcast partners over the years, left bouquets of flowers at home plate.

Sterling was on the air for 5,426 regular season games and 225 postseason games when he retired in April 2024, before returning for one final stint during the club’s World Series run that year.

He was on the mic for 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 to July 2019. He called 24 Yankees playoff trips, eight World Series appearances and five World Series titles. He was on call for monumental milestones, from Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit to Alex Rodriguez’s 500th home run to Aaron Judge’s record-tying 62nd home run in 2022.

“I’m just going to remember that he brought New York theater to the stadium,” Judge said Monday. “I think that’s the best way to describe him. He brought such enthusiasm. He’s almost a kid up there on the show.”

When Judge went deep in the first inning Monday for his league-leading 14th home run, Kay paid tribute to Sterling with his home run: “It’s high! It’s far! He’s gone! Aaron Judge! A blast from Judgian! Here’s Judge!”

“He loved this team, he loved this franchise, he loved the fans,” Judge said afterward of Sterling. “He loved everyone he talked to every night. So to do that out there in the beginning, I was laughing a little bit running around the bases thinking about what he was probably saying.”

The Yankees played Sterling’s signature “Theeee Yankees win!” ” after the finale of their 12-1 victory over the Orioles before moving on to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”

Judge hopes it’s a new Bronx tradition.

“I think it would be a nice little nod to John and what he represents – both to this franchise and this fan base. I think it would be pretty cool,” Judge said.

Like Judge, Boone hopes Sterling’s voice at the end of victories becomes routine.

“Yeah, I’d love that,” the manager said. “Straight to Frank.”

Boone authored one of the few memorable moments that Sterling didn’t call when he sent the Yankees to the World Series with a home run against the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. Charley Steiner, Sterling’s partner at the time, was on the microphone during the extra innings. Years later, when Boone was a broadcaster for ESPN, Waldman gave Boone a tape of Sterling calling him.

“It’s really John,” Boone said with a smile.

Boone said his fondest memories of Sterling off the field were the “sweet, funny and encouraging” comments he regularly made when the team was traveling – whether by bus or plane – and going through a tough time.

He recalled Sterling’s “childish” reaction when he was hit by a foul ball while on air during a game at Yankee Stadium in 2023.

He remembered Sterling’s booming voice that served as the summer soundtrack for generations of fans.

“He was his,” Boone said. “He was an original. Never before, there’ll probably never be anyone like him like he did. And I appreciate that. And I ate it. I loved it.”

Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.