Jorge CastilloMay 4, 2026, 07:16 PM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Michael Kay pays tribute to late John Sterling on Aaron Judge’s HR (0:49)Michael Kay pays tribute to late John Sterling on Aaron Judge’s HR (0:49)
NEW YORK — For the past couple of seasons, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has celebrated each win with a line familiar to baseball fans.
“A giant in the sport,” Boone said before the Yankees took on the Baltimore Orioles. “Did it his own way. Walked to his own beat as much as he can and truly one of a kind. And a sad day, but also one where we get to celebrate an iconic figure.”
Sterling was on the air for 5,426 regular-season and 225 postseason games when he retired in April 2024, before returning for the club’s postseason run to the World Series for a final stint.
“I’m just gonna remember he brought the New York theater to the ballpark,” Judge said Monday. “I think it’s the best way to describe it. He just brought such enthusiasm. He’s almost a kid up there on the broadcast.”
The Yankees played Sterling’s signature “Theeee Yankees win!” call after the final out of their 12-1 victory over the Orioles, before transitioning into Frank Sinatra’s “Theme from New York, New York.”
Boone said his fondest memories of Sterling off the field were the “sweet, funny, encouraging” comments he regularly made when the team was traveling — whether by bus or plane — and toiling through a rough patch.
He recalled Sterling’s “boyish” reaction when he was hit by a foul ball while on the air during a game at Yankee Stadium in 2023.
He reminisced over Sterling’s booming voice serving as the summer soundtrack for generations of fans.
“He was his own,” Boone said. “He was an original. Never before, never will there probably be anyone like him the way he did it. And I appreciate that. And I ate it up. I loved it.”
Michael Kay pays tribute to late John Sterling on Aaron Judge’s HR (0:49)Michael Kay pays tribute to late John Sterling on Aaron Judge’s HR (0:49)
Jorge CastilloMay 4, 2026, 07:16 PM ETCloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on XMultiple Authors
CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.Follow on X
Michael Kay pays tribute to late John Sterling on Aaron Judge’s HR (0:49)