It’s no surprise the New York Yankees are set to return to the postseason after a one-year absence.
In a mild upset, so is John Sterling.
The Yankees’ longtime play-by-play voice on the radio who announced his retirement in April is coming back in October to call home and away games for WFAN, according to multiple reports Thursday. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic was the first to report the news.
According to Marchand, Sterling’s presence on the mic both home and away came at the request of WFAN. The 86-year-old had begun to reduce his slate of road games in the second half of the 2022 season.
The Yankees (80-60) and Baltimore Orioles (81-60) are separated by a half-game for the lead in the American League East with less than four weeks’ worth of games remaining in the schedule.
The regular season ends Sept. 29. The AL Wild Card games begin two days later. Sterling might not know his first-round destination until two days before it’s decided — and his un-retirement might end in a matter of days. The best-of-three wild card series ends no later than Oct. 3.
Perhaps the potential brevity of the playoff schedule was enough to convince Sterling to make one last go.
“I am a very blessed human being,” Sterling said in a statement announcing his retirement April 15. “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.”
The sentimentality among WFAN and Yankees executives was apparently mutual. According to Marchand,
Sterling has been succeeded this year by a trio of play-by-play announcers, Justin Shackil, Rickie Ricardo and Emmanuel Berbari. When The Athletic first reported the possibility of Sterling’s return last month, Sterling expressed he would feel bad for the trio if he stepped in.
On Thursday, Sterling and WFAN declined comment. WFAN boss and Audacy New York president, Chris Oliviero, presented Sterling with the offer Thursday, and Sterling accepted, per the sources. Top Yankees executives signed off on the move last week.
Marchand and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com both reported Sterling is expected to go back into retirement after the Yankees’ postseason run ends.
The voice of the Yankees didn’t ask for a parade when he retired, but with a little luck, his career will end with one anyway.
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