A US baseball team New Yankees is going to honour a famous sports commentator John Sterling this Saturday as the iconic sportscaster announced his retirement Monday due to health reasons and old age.
The 85-year-old decided to stay away from the booth, as he said in a statement that he has been able to do what he wanted, and that he is a very blessed human being.
New York Yankees have planned to honour him for his 64 years of broadcasting service in a pregame ceremony.
Sterling — who joined the Yankee’s broadcast in 1989 — said: “As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It’s all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy. I look forward to seeing everyone again on Saturday.”
The commentator called 5,420 regular-season and 211 postseason Yankees games and he had his 36th game in the booth and 20th working alongside Suzyn Waldman, according to ESPN.
The outlet also reported the statistics that Sterling was in session for 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 to July 2019.
He was on the mic for 24 postseason trips, seven World Series appearances, and five World Series titles.
For the last time he was on air, the Yankees won 8-3 over the Toronto Blue Jays on April 7.
The Yankees in a statement noted: “… John Sterling used his seat in the broadcast booth to bring Yankees fans the heartbeat of the game… John… entertained, and he exemplified what it means to be a New Yorker with an unapologetic… style…”
“We congratulate John on a remarkable and illustrious career. His contributions to this great game and to the Yankees franchise will echo long into the future,” it added.
