Daily Report – 5/5/26
Yankees
Yesterday, John Sterling, the legendary voice of the New York Yankees whose broadcasting presence spanned generations, passed away at 87.
Born on the Fourth of July in 1938, Sterling truly lived the American Dream. Ever since he was six years old, he dreamed of being the play-by-play voice of the New York Yankees. One fateful day in 1989, his dream became reality, and it repeated 5,425 more times in the regular season and 225 times in the playoffs. He even called 5,060 consecutive games between 1989 and 2019, a feat that will likely never be matched.
Sterling, according to his longtime radio partner Suzyn Waldman, was “totally unique and original,” the best compliment a play-by-play broadcaster can receive. Sterling was nothing short of a showman, known for coupling his theatrical personality and Broadway knowledge with his devout love for the Yankees and their fans.
“He was doing Yankee games for Yankee fans,” Waldman said yesterday. “He knew who was out there. They loved the references to Broadway shows and things in New York. This was a broadcast for New Yorkers, and people loved him for that. He described things in a way nobody else did.”
Players, fans, and broadcasters from around the sports world flooded social media with tributes honoring Sterling’s great legacy. The one that hit home the most came during the first inning of yesterday’s Yankees game, when Aaron Judge homered, and Michael Kay imitated Sterling’s “All Rise” home run call.
“A Judgian Blast! All rise! Here comes the JUDGE!”
New York eventually won the ballgame 12-1, honoring Sterling with a four-game sweep of a division opponent.
Sterling and Kay shared a radio booth between 1992 and 2001. They were best friends. The last time they spoke, Sterling, while recovering from open-heart surgery, had lost the ability to walk. He told Kay he was pushing his rehab full throttle. Kay told him to take it easy, but Sterling insisted he had to make it to walk his oldest daughter down the aisle. Unfortunately, that never happened.
Kay, like Waldman, understood Sterling at a level few others could. “The best way to describe John, to me, is he looked at life like this one big cocktail party,” Kay said. “He wanted everybody around him and everybody he was around to be having fun.”
Before yesterday’s game, the Yankees honored Sterling on the field. Waldman and Kay laid flower bouquets on home plate, and the entire Yankees team, with “JS” stitched into the backs of their hats, stood outside the dugout for the national anthem.
“Seeing that tribute hit home, because [Sterling] loved the Yankees,” Judge said. He loved this team, he loved this franchise, he loved the fans, he loved everybody he talked to on a nightly basis.”
It didn’t take long for the Yankees to pull ahead of Baltimore. In the first inning, Judge demolished his 14th home run of the season, a two-run blast. With a 2-for-4 performance and four RBI, Judge has now homered in consecutive games and in five of his last eight. He is 11-for-25 (.440) at the plate in his previous seven games.
“To do that there in the first [inning], I was chuckling around the bases thinking about what [Sterling] was probably saying,” Judge said.
On the mound, Cam Schlittler battled through some command issues, allowing seven hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings. He walked three batters and struck out four. His fastball averaged 99.6 mph, two mph higher than his season average, but he needed 95 pitches to put out 17 of the 25 batters he faced. Nevertheless, he earned the win, improving to 5-1 on the season with an American League-best 1.52 ERA.
“I think he discovered something delivery-wise that got him a little more power,” said manager Aaron Boone. “He was having a little bit of a hard time harnessing it at the level he’s used to. There were a handful of pitches that didn’t do exactly what he was expecting, but he was electric.”
In the top of the sixth inning, with the bases loaded, Boone summoned the struggling Jake Bird out of the bullpen to replace Schlittler. The righty was immediately flagged for a pitch timer violation, but he bounced back to strike out Jeremiah Jackson, stranding all three runners. Between Bird, Tim Hill, Camilo Doval, and Paul Blackburn, the Yankees’ bullpen completed 3 1/3 scoreless innings.
“I get on myself for the walks. It’s something you can control,” Schlittler said. “Obviously, [Bird’s] able to come in there and bail me out. That’s a huge momentum shifter for us. Just got to work on that and try not to collapse there in the 6th inning.”
The Yankees carried that momentum into the bottom of the sixth, scoring two runs. With two outs and runners at the corners, Ryan McMahon singled to put the Yankees ahead 5-1, and José Caballero followed with his sixth double of the season.
According to Boone, Caballero will remain the Yankees’ starting shortstop for the foreseeable future, even though Anthony Volpe’s rehab assignment ended on Sunday. The Yankees already reinstated Volpe from the injured list and optioned him to the Minors, where they will test out his defensive skills at various infield positions.
In the eighth inning, against former Yankees pitcher Lou Trivino, the Bombers doubled their lead with six runs. With two outs and the bases loaded, Trent Grisham walked in a run before Judge’s two-run single made it 9-1. Then, Cody Bellinger drove Grisham and Judge home with a game-breaking triple, and Jasson Domínguez made it 12-1 with a single.
Boone said that after wins, he likes to honor Sterling by chanting, “Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeee Yankees win!” After yesterday’s win, the Yankees played Sterling’s signature win call over the Stadium loudspeakers before cutting straight to Frank Sinatra. This new tradition might be here to stay.
Tonight, at 7:05 PM, the Yankees will face the Texas Rangers for the second time in one week. RHP Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 4.50 ERA) will make his first start in pinstripes against the righty Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01 ERA).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
DH Jasson Domínguez (S)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
SP: RHP Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Schedule
7:05 PM: NYY vs. TEX; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01 ERA)
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
