Even in 2020, Yankees radio voice Suzyn Waldman is not so sure fans are accepting of a female in the radio booth.
Waldman, who has been John Sterling’s broadcast partner on the radio for Yankees games since 2005, appeared on Mike Greenberg’s “I’m Interested” podcast to talk about what it meant to be a pioneer in the industry, but Waldman does not believe things have changed enough.
“I believe that I am tolerated and not accepted, and still to this day, they would rather have a guy in the Yankees radio booth,” she said. “I don’t think it has changed fast enough. When we get to the point where someone can be hired and it is not a big deal because it is a woman, then I will be satisfied.”
Waldman has worked in broadcasting for over 30 years, covering the Yankees and Knicks for WFAN starting in 1987 and co-hosting a mid-day sports show. She became the second woman ever to serve as a play-by-play announcer for a major league team, doing so for the Yankees on WPIX, and became the third woman in MLB history to serve as a full-time color commentator.
But Waldman has just one issue with being called a pioneer.
“I guess it means that I am old because no one is a pioneer at 20,” she joked. “I think it means a lot now because now I see the results of what I have done because there are sleuths of young women in their 20s who are now doing minor league baseball play-by-play and they are very good.”
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