Of the people most associated with John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman is one of the first to come to mind.
After the news of the legendary Yankees voice’s death broke Monday morning, Waldman took to Instagram to share a photo and tribute to her longtime booth partner.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out! Very tough day, but a celebration of the life of a man who lived life exactly the way he wanted is in order! 💔💔,” she wrote.
Waldman was Sterling’s last partner in the booth at Yankee Stadium before he retired in April 2024 after 36 seasons serving as the play-by-play announcer for the pinstripes.
The two were a dynamic duo since 2005, which was when Michael Kay became the TV play-by-play broadcaster for YES Network after he spent years paired up with Sterling on radio.
WFAN announced Sterling’s death at 87 live on radio and later Waldman made an appearance to talk about her former colleague’s legacy and their friendship.
“What you actually heard was who he was. The job was something he had dreamed about since he was 6 years old. He wanted to be Mel Allen. He wanted to have this job forever,” she said. “He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. … He never understood why anyone would be mean to him or anyone else. … He had the best soul of anyone I’ve ever met in my life, and I don’t think we’re ever gonna see that again.”
She commended the way Sterling handled the job — one they did together as “Yankees games for Yankees games” not a national broadcast.
“We never really got into the kind of broadcasting where, ‘Well, it’s 15-0 but isn’t it a lovely day?’ That’s not who we were, because that’s not what New York fans want to hear, I think,” Waldman said. “Because I know Sam in The Bronx is sitting there thinking the same thing as John Sterling — ‘What are they doing?’
“I think the thing that bothered him the most was when somebody called him a homer, because he got as angry as anybody and could rip this team as well as anybody. But he did it in a way that, ‘we’re gonna be better.’ He was saying it and he was angry because that’s how the fans felt, but there was always something positive at the end. ‘It’s gonna be fine, but this is what you have to do now because this is terrible.’”
Sterling was known for his various home run nicknames throughout the years, something that he started when calling NBA games before joining the Yankees in 1990.
Waldman described that Sterling never told her any before the live moment. Thus, often in the background you can hear her laughing or dead silence.
“I liked that whole group, that first one. Jorge juiced one. ‘Bern, baby Bern’ has to be my favorite,” she said.
The two were friends for over 40 years, since the All-Star break of 1987, Waldman explained. There is iPad she bought him that she still believes is up in the booth in one of the cabinets at Yankee Stadium.
However, Sterling wasn’t known for his tech savviness.
“He was never on the internet. He had a flip phone,” Waldman said. “He was never online ever. He was really happy the way he was. He loved his newspapers, he loved listening to the news on the radio. That’s how he lived, and that was absolutely perfect for him.”
Waldman currently holds down the booth with Dave Sims, Sterling’s replacement. A tribute is expected on the radio Monday night when the Yankees face the Orioles in The Bronx.
