All in a night’s work — the roughly 3,800th game Sterling has worked since he joined the Yankees, a period during which he has never missed a game.
Within 90 minutes of the final out, Sterling is usually at home in his apartment in Edgewater, N.J., where he lives alone. In public, he always seems undeniably on display, a tall man stalking through hallways with a booming voice that precedes him. Late at night, he mixes a drink, revs up the DVR and reclines in the quiet of his living room to watch the soap operas he missed earlier in the day.
...A typical day for Sterling starts late because he stays up late. Besides having an affection for TV soap operas, he is a voracious reader of mystery novels and celebrity biographies. He tries to swim every day for at least a half-hour. On the road, it is a familiar sight at the Ritz-Carltons and other fashionable hotels where the Yankees stay to see a soggy Sterling striding through the ornate lobby in a terry-cloth robe, goggles perched on his head on his way back from the hotel pool.
...Sterling does not own a computer, nor does he have Internet access on his cellphone. He shuns most modern digital or interactive conveniences.
When the most biting criticisms of his work were read aloud to him as he sat in a mezzanine-level lounge at Yankee Stadium last week, he looked offended, even hurt, although he responded flatly: “That’s nice, isn’t it?”
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1. RMc and His Roster of Rubbish Posted: October 01, 2011 at 09:07 PM (#3947650)EDIT: "Sterling was divorced from his wife, Jennifer, in 2008. The couple, married for 12 years, had four children: a daughter, now 13; and triplets, two boys and a girl, who were born in 2000. The children visit him at his Edgewater home during the baseball season when the Yankees schedule permits. In the off-season, he sees them more frequently."
OK. But that doesn't explain the age thing. Wiki quotes this page, which looks shaky to me. Anyone know?
EDIT: Have a Coke on me, RMc
He's like everyone's grandma. I wonder if Michael Kay thinks he's putting on airs when he catches him reading a biography of Larry King.
I'm not wild about Kay, but I think he got a lot better after he got away from Sterling. Sterling, on the other hand, got worse, if that's possible.
Hawk Harrelson is still the gold standard of awful, though.
Didn't show up on mine. NYT wall is for shiit.
I actually kinda had him pegged for an apartment in Midtown, Broadway musical soundtracks on the turntable, maybe even the occasional trip to Sardi's or Elaine's (RIP?).
Instead it's warmed-over Young and the Restless, Grisham novels, and Kitty Kelley in Jersey.
Yeeesh, that's brutal.
If you get blocked by the NYT Paywall, erase everything after the ? in the address bar and it will beat the blocker.
Kay *is* bad, I'm not arguing that, but Kay isn't within a 1000 miles of how awful Sterling is.
John Sterling makes Baby Jesus weep tears of blood.
That's actually Suzyn Waldman :)
The NYT has this new policy where you can only read 20 articles per month for 'free'. And then they give you a reminder that you really should order an online account. But all you have to do is cut and paste the article url without the add on info. Its freaking hilarious how easy it is to get around it.
It's kind of like having Craig Counsel break Ripken's streak or something, but still...
Remember the definitely immoral days of bselig/bselig?
Heh, I do.
I *still* try that L/P combo on pretty much any site I visit that I don't really want to set up a real account with ...
Yes. OK then. Sterling really is awful though. He seems to only vaguely be interested in describing what's happening in the game unless it's a home run or the final out when he gets to be a bellowing buffoon.
I notice that they have one half inning that is essentially a talk show with a guest. I think Boston does that too on NESN. I forget if they do it on the radio.
Sterling on Sterling in Pounds Sterling.
In old Yankee Stadium, a group of us were heading from the press level to the locker room. And the elevator is usually express. For some reason, it stopped, and picked up some fans, who got out at the level above the clubhouse. Added maybe 45 seconds. Well, the entire time the fans were on the elevator, Sterling is muttering, and the moment they got off, he absolutely destroyed the elevator guy.
Really didn't leave me with a great impression. Now, Bobby Murcer? He was incredibly nice- went out of his way to introduce himself to me, as if Bobby Murcer had to.
Wasn't a fan of Sterling before that. Less so after that.
I will point out that Sterling clearly knows his Yankee history, given that he refuses to give his age. Taking Casey Stengel's "I'll never make the mistake of being 70 again" advice to heart.
Yeah, ESPN Mag interviewed me about that, but I screwed it up by yakking about R. Budd Selig continually shooting himself...in the foot.
It's not unlike hating Shane Victorino.
I don't think he does a good job of calling ballgames. He seems more concerned with nattering on about nothing in particular and shoehorning in his catch-phrases than telling you what the hell is going on. If he were doing TV, he would be less annoying, but radio listeners rely upon him to describe the action and he just doesn't do a very good job of it.
Yup, one of my (Met fan) friends complains that he's loath to tell the score/base out state other than at the beginning/end of the inning.
Really?
I'd defend him by saying he's LIGHT YEARS more listenable than his booth compatriot, Suzyn "Voice Made for Flag Semaphore" Waldman ... but, then again, that's probably just my prejudices talking.
Oh, right, that's not actually a defense, only less of an indictment ...
Quick, someone bring some wood, he's getting away!!!
Yes, and also the schtick.
At the end of the day however, the absolute worst thing about them as a team is that at some point over the last decade, they came to the realization that people tuned in to the broadcast not to hear the Yankees play, but to hear Sterling perform, with Waldman as his sidekick. Adding to the idiocracy is that Waldman's apparent ineptitude really seems to be an act designed to enhance Sterling's image as the sole dispenser of wisdom and knowledge.
I am too young to remember Mel Allen, but for me, the only person who fits this description is Bob Sheppard...I don't remember if he was ever called by this name...but it does just feel right (at least to a fan who grew up in the nineties.)
And while his ego may not like it, I'll bet that Sterling deep down knows that.
I am too young to remember Mel Allen, but for me, the only person who fits this description is Bob Sheppard...I don't remember if he was ever called by this name...but it does just feel right (at least to a fan who grew up in the nineties.)
Allen was actually called "the voice of the Yankees" for decades, while Sheppard was called "The Voice of God." And if you judge by the reception he gets on BTF, Sterling is mostly the Voice of the Pinata.
I'd say that's a very distinct possibility.
... and the age thing shows he's familiar with and comfortable with the mechanisms of keeping parts of his life closeted. The peripatetic early adulthood may have stemmed from running away or moving on before people got to know him too well.
This is a bit surprising coming from someone in the business. Isn't it obvious that the people who gave him that contract have decided that the schtick is an easier sell than a quality broadcast would be?
The Hebrew Home for the Aged in Riverdale?
I find it easy to hate him. He's kind of harmless, but, I don't think him being a terrible announcer is just an innocent thing. He's well aware of the fact he makes a ton of mistakes, and he's said before that he thinks it's "part of (his) charm". He is about self promotion, and seems to think the fans are more interested in him than the game.
Oh, she's terrible too. But, she's lightyears ahead of Sterling as far as baseball knowledge. And, she makes a better effort than Sterling to know what's going on in the league. I can think of more than a couple times where Sterling has sniped at her after she's said something that shows she's a lot brighter than he is. Sterling's all schtick and cliches. He's worse than Hawk Harrelson.
Sterling believes that he's the repository of all baseball knowledge, and if there's something outside of his knowlege level, he deflects it with open hostility or "Well, you can never predict baseball."
Suzyn is much more of a reporter at heart. If she were a writer, I suspect that I'd like her contributions.
Oh, and don't insult gays by casting aspersions on Sterling's sexuality. He'd be dreadful no matter whom he slept with.
Sterling is bad, not historically awful or anything like that, just well below average
I do smile at it is high it is far it is... caught
I can take Sterling in small doses, but why would anyone who isn't stuck in his automobile or at work during game times ever listen to the game on the radio rather than watch it on TV? And why would any non-masochistic non-Yankee fan ever be listening to him in the first place?
I enjoy listening to them on the radio. Sterling does a very good job at setting up in-game strategy and options.
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