New York Yankees legendary announcer John Sterling returned to the broadcast booth Tuesday night for the first time since announcing his retirement in April, stepping in for a half inning on the YES Network and for two innings on WFAN radio.
He made the most of his opportunity during the television broadcast to dissect the Yankees' struggles since he last signed off the air on April 7.
"The fact that surprised me is that so many of the guys haven't hit—obviously not [Juan] Soto and [Aaron] Judge—and that the bullpen has been so poor. ... You look at your lineup card: [Gleyber] Torres not hitting, [Anthony] Volpe really not hitting and DJ [LeMahieu] not hitting. It's really hurt because with Soto and Judge, wow what an offense they can have."
John Sterling used his half inning in the booth to air out some thoughts on this Yankees team:
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 21, 2024
"So many of the guys haven't hit... The bullpen has been so poor... Torres not hitting. Volpe really not hitting and DJ not hitting." pic.twitter.com/4foMRACijl
The Yankees, who owned the best record in the American League at 41–19 on June 1, have struggled in recent months. They went 14–13 in June, 11–13 in July and were 8–7 in August entering Tuesday night's game, just hanging on to a half-game lead over the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East.
New York's offense has been an issue. Aside from Soto and Judge, who have combined to mash 80 homers, the Yankees only have three players with an OPS above .685—Giancarlo Stanton, Austin Wells and Jose Trevino.
The Yankees' bullpen hasn't been much better, as it ranks 23rd in baseball since June 1 with a 4.30 ERA. Clay Holmes's status as the team's closer is in jeopardy after blowing his MLB-leading 10th save of the season in a 2–1 extra-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
When Sterling signed off on the WFAN radio broadcast after the fifth inning, the Yankees were tied 3–3 with the Guardians. If this game gets away from New York, at least Yankees fans were treated to a few bonus innings of the legendary Sterling back on the microphone.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as John Sterling Gave Blunt Assessment of Yankees' Struggles in Brief Broadcast Cameo.
