John Sterling, 85, Yankees' longtime radio voice, retires - ESPN

John Sterling, the longtime radio voice of the New York Yankees, has decided to retire, effective immediately, the club announced Monday.

Sterling, 85, joined the Yankees' broadcast in 1989. He went on to call 5,420 regular-season and 211 postseason Yankees games. Sterling had taken on a reduced role in recent seasons and traveled less often because of health concerns. This season was his 36th in the booth and 20th working alongside Suzyn Waldman.

«I am a very blessed human being,» Sterling said in a statement. «I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It's all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy.»

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Known for his individualized home run calls and signature Yankees victory call, Sterling was in the booth for 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 to July 2019, when he missed a series with an illness. The native New Yorker was on the air for 24 postseason trips, seven World Series appearances and five World Series titles.

Sterling worked the Yankees' season-opening road trip in Houston and Arizona before calling the Yankees' first home series of the season. His final game will go down as the Yankees' 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on April 7.

Sterling will be recognized in a pregame ceremony at Yankee Stadium on Saturday before visiting the radio booth during the game against the Tampa Bay Rays.