John Sterling's advice to his successors? 'Be yourself'
John Sterling never meant to be known for having a signature home run call for every Yankee over the course of three decades…but you can thank Bernie Williams for it.
“It wasn’t meant that way, I just happened to do it for Bernie and did ‘Bern, Baby, Bern,’ and it mushroomed for there,” John said. “It never was intended for everyone, because I’m no smart enough to do that! But, I did the best I could, and it’s amazing it became so big.”
He couldn’t name a single favorite, although he did say ‘A-Bomb from A-Rod, and Robbie Cano, don’t’cha know?’ would be at the top of the list.
Sadly, he didn’t get to drop one last “All Rise, here comes The Judge!” or any other calls during his final appearance in the WFAN booth Saturday, choosing only to reminisce for a few minutes with Suzyn Waldman before tuning the mic back over to Justin Shackil.
Hours earlier, as Rickie Ricardo hosted a pregame special, a caller said that whomever replaces John has big shoes to fill…but in his retirement press conference, John did say that whether it’s Shackil, Emmanuel Berbari, any of the others who got to fill in for him over the last few years, or a newcomer to the booth, the best advice John could give was, basically, wear your own shoes.
“Be yourself,” he said. “Harry Caray told me years ago that all the guys are great, we just have different styles. Emmanuel and Justin are terrific young broadcasters, but I say this: do it your way and find your own style.”
