With the radio contract between WCBS-880 and the Yankees coming to a close and a bidding war for the radio rights to the Yankees on the horizon,there may be changes to the Yankees’ broadcast team in the near future. RAB touched on this yesterday, and many of the commenters on that post advocated replacing John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman, something I suggested months ago. The team here at TYA had a lengthy email discussion on this topic last night, and we came up with 3 general paths that the Yankees can take in regard to their radio broadcast team:
1) Leave things the way they are: The Yankee radio rights are going to be heavily bid upon because they are incredibly valuable as they currently are. It seems unlikely that the Yankees would tamper with the property and make changes in the booth before selling the rights, and it would be equally unexpected to see a company purchase the rights and then make changes that could upset listeners. Whether you like him or not, Sterling has come to be identified as the “Voice of the Yankees,” and many fans have accepted him in that capacity. I find that he does a good job attracting younger listeners, as children tend to enjoy his histrionics and latch onto baseball due to his showmanship. Unless someone decides that his error-filled broadcasts are actually costing the station listeners, Sterling is likely to stay.
2) Replace Suzyn Waldman: Notice that the first path did not mention Waldman, as she does not possess any of the factors that make Sterling likely to retain his job. I have yet to meet someone who loves her work, and most find her to be a poor broadcaster. She does little to cover up Sterling’s flaws, which is the most important function of a “color guy (or gal)” working next to “The Voice.” She should resume doing the pre and postgame shows, which play to her strengths as an interviewer and reporter.
As for replacing her, the team can bring in a younger announcer to be an apprentice to Sterling and eventually take the lead broadcaster role, or they can try and find someone who may not be a long-term solution but can cover up John’s analytical flaws. In the first group, one name I find interesting is Josh Lewin, who formerly called games for the Texas Rangers and currently does work as a play-by-play man for Fox Sports. Lewin is a strong play-by-play man who is fairly knowledgable and will not be afraid to correct or challenge John when he passes along patently incorrect information. Dan Shulman and Boog Sciambi fit in this category as well, but both recently signed long-term deals with ESPN and are unlikely to give those up to play second fiddle in the Yankees’ booth.
One “out of the box” option that was brought up in our conversation was Ryan Ruocco. Ruocco, an ESPN 1050 personality, does play-by-play on college basketball games, is the in-booth stats guy for YES broadcasts, and announces the pregame highlights at Yankee Stadium. He is young and is likely to be a bit raw, but I think he would be an inspired choice who could help bring in listeners in the 18-45 range.
As for people who can cover up John’s flaws but are unlikely to ever take the lead role, Mark Feinsand, Sweeny Murti, and John Giannone were all raised as potential options. All 3 have similar profiles to that of Michael Kay when he took a spot in the Yankees’ radio booth, and all have enough baseball knowledge and broadcasting experience to fill in the blanks left in the broadcast by Sterling’s fairly simplistic presentation of the games. I do not love this idea, but I can see its appeal and believe that it is the most likely outcome, whether with one of these 3 names or with someone similar to them.
3) Replace Sterling and Waldman: If those in charge decide that it is time to put Sterling out to pasture, they would likely look to bring in an established announcer with name recognition so as to soften the blow that comes with pushing someone like Sterling out the door. The ideal situation would be for the Yankees to bring in a veteran announcer and pair him with a younger voice like Lewin or a project like Ruocco who can eventually take the lead role. With Jon Miller no longer at ESPN, it may be possible to lure him away from the San Francisco Giants job. He would be the perfect choice to replace Sterling and mentor an up-and-coming voice, as fans would embrace Miller and could slowly get accustomed to the younger, less recognized announcer who would eventually replace him.
What would you do about the Yankees’ radio broadcast team? Are there other announcers who you think should be considered?
Photo Credit: David Pokress
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I think a lot of people would see Jon Miller as persona non grata after all those years of Sunday Night Baseball. I don’t entirely see why. He didn’t grate me too much. He is knowledgeable of the game, can make the game exciting, and always refers to Mariano as “The Great Rivera.”
I think that in most cases, your second path will be the most likely one. Like him or not, John Sterling is the voice of the Yankees. I agree that they need to pair him with someone who can cover for some of his mistakes and maybe get him to stop saying “you can’t predict baseball” so damn much. Sometimes I forget how much I enjoyed Charley Steiner being his color guy in the early aughts. In any event, I think we see Sterling back, but if they decide not to, I would say Miller is a strong candidate to replace him. Would not surprise me if they didn’t try and have another woman ride shotgun with whomever they choose.
I think the dislike of Morgan carried over onto Miller. He’s a great announcer with a fabulous voice.
Can we just start firesuzyn.com? The experiment is over, the results are back, and they’re not pretty.
Yeah pretty much everything about Suzyn grates on my at this point. I was a member of that “younger audience” who was drawn in by Sterling, and I still enjoy “THHEEEEEE YANKEES WIN” but Suzyn Waldman constantly fawning over him with that unbelievably irritating laugh, combined with “you can’t predict baseball” 4-5 times every single game, has driven me away from listening to the Yanks on the radio. A stats guy paired with Sterling could be interesting, option #2 seems like the best one to me at the moment, since Sterling is just too poopular with too many people.
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I completely agree with the Suzyn-must-go crowd. I am only 22 and have been listening to games since 1995, but I speak for a bunch of my friends in saying that we can tolerate Sterling, not Suzyn. Having one person to enjoy and also cringe at is fine. And we cringe a lot–Sterling’s never-ending quest to come up with horrible home run calls for each player, his “isn’t that something” routine, and the times when he seems half asleep, busy eating, or slurping a beverage on the air.
Suzyn, however, is his enabler. When he waxes and has senior moments, she seems to exacerbate the problem, not inject new energy. They become a pair of retirees looking at headlines in the morning and saying, “kids these days,” “you just can’t predict baseball,” etc. Could be reduced to clucking. I think Ruocco is the most palatable option to my cohort.
You would be delusional if you think Sterling is going anywhere. George Steinbrenner promised him he would have a job as long as he wanted it because John always had George’s back. His sons will honor that commitment.
But i could see Joel Sherman replacing Suzyn. Sterling likes him and he has done a very good job in the past filling in for her.
Shoot me now if Joel Sherman gets anywhere near the booth. He’s a decent reporter, but his analysis is beyond pathetic.
I agree, option 2 is significantly more likely than option 3 if they are going to make a change. For better or worse, Sterling is now tied into the mythos of the franchise.
I really feel bad for you younger fans for what you are subjected too with most Yankees announcers. You have Kay, Flaherty, Sterling and Waldman. We hand the Rizzuto, Messer and White. It’s quite sad.
I hope you’re not hinting that listening to Phil Rizzuto was in any way, shape or form sad.
No. The opposite. We were lucky to have Rizzuto, White and Messer. I feel sad for the younger group of fans that never had the pleasure of listening to those guys.
Rizzuto was hilarious, but I think standards have changed a lot since those days. If Phil was still doing games, I suspect the same folks who decry Sterling would have a problem with the Scooter. And Phil had his fair share of critics in his heyday as well, it’s just that media has changed by light years from the 60s-80s. Sports talk radio wasn’t even around for most of Phil’s tenure, much less the internet, blogs and Twitter.
The one thing Phil had going for him was it was TV, so when he completely blew a call it didn’t really matter, since you saw the play for yourself. It’s also interesting to note that Sterling has said that he learned his Baseball broadcast style from Phil, who taught him to always be ahead of the play. Being ahead of the play makes sense on TV. On radio? Not so much.
I don’t need stats in the booth at all. She never disagrees with John, and even parrots his mistakes, and I don’t find here particularly insightful as an analyst. We rarely hear anything about strategy, pitch sequence, or anything like that. It is almost all banalities and cliches.
Was this reply to my comment below?
Oops, yes, Ill repost it there.
Underneath the silliness was really good baseball discussion. White and Rizzuto always talked about pitching inside. White was really great and understood plate discipline before anyone knew what obp was.
They need a complete change. I would hate to see them bring in Miller who over enunciates.
New unknowns is the way to go. The next generation needs to grow up with a team. I grew up with Rizzuto and White and I still think they are the best ever.
I’d be the first to admit that Suzyn doesn’t add much in terms of analysis, and much of her commentary makes it painfully obvious that she’s even never swung a bat. But as Mo noted, I think she does add something when she interviews players. She always treats players as people first and ballplayers second, which is a different (and I think refreshing) way to look at the game. I’m sure that appeals to a female audience, and its something that’s easier for a woman to pull off or do well. If a man delved into those areas, it would seem like prying into someone’s personal life and/or possibly excuse making for a poor performance.
What I don’t get is why people hate her so much. For those of you who hate Suzyn, can you articulate why? Is it the voice? The fact that she’s a woman in a 99% male dominated profession? Is it the way she and John dismiss stats?
I don’t need stats in the booth at all. She never disagrees with John, and even parrots his mistakes, and I don’t find her particularly insightful as an analyst. We rarely hear anything about strategy, pitch sequence, or anything like that. It is almost all banalities and cliches.
Yeah, I agree her analysis leaves a lot to be desired. But many broadcasters don’t do analysis well yet aren’t as despised as she is, so there’s something else going on.
I think it’s entirely that she accentuates Sterling’s worst tendencies, and doesn’t check him in any way. He needs a counterbalance in the booth. When he is falling asleep in summer day games, we will need some energy. Someone who knows abot sabermetrics a little or has some energy would be nice. Suzyn is at her best doing post-game interviews… why not just keep her as a pre- and post-game clubhouse reporter?
As to the fact that she is a woman, I don’t (particularly) mind her voice. But I think it would be nearly impossible to replace her with another woman. Sterling expects the person to be super chummy with him, like it’s all some sort of inside joke or lecture for “the kids these days.” Can’t imagine a young female partner meshing with him in the way that a young male one could at least be the kid learning the ropes… but maybe just because a young woman sitting with Sterling that long sounds kinda creepy somehow…
Pretty much agree with this. Don’t necessarily need some saber friendly, but maybe slightly more stat friendly. But it is key that you have some balance out Sterling’s weaknesses, but she has the same weaknesses or at least conforms her behavior to his.
I am fine with Sterling. He is entertaining. But I would replace Suzyn. I don’t know much about some of the guys you mentioned but I think anyone that will help cover Sterlings miscues would be better.
I’ll agree that Suzyn isn’t that bad. I think Sterling is so stuck in his ways that she can’t do anything in the booth. And that is part of the problem, she is too passive with John
Like almost everyone else here I feel Waldman has to go. I like Jon Miller–if Sterling is being replaced–otherwise I don’t think the two would mesh: It could be SNB all over again. Sweeny Murti might be a good choice alongside Sterling. We’ll see…
I love Sterling!! It is High!! It is Far, It is…Caught!! Thats a keeper!! Bring Tino onboard for the stats. I thought he was good in that one game that he sat in the booth last summer.
I found Tino a bit bland. I would prefer Cone or Leiter from the former players.
I agree on Tino. Great guy, but his inputs don’t really add much value. Coney is great and Al Leiter is even better – that guy is a natural broadcaster.
I agree that SW accentuates JS’ flaws, but tend to defend her because of all the sexist crap she takes – none of it here, relievingly. I’d like for a woman to continue in the role, but don’t know of any. Maybe Cone could become the first trans color man?
I fear we are stuck with Sterling and Waldman. And therefore my radio dial will remain firmly in the off position.
Each time I hear Sterling I come away with the impression that he wants you to notice him as much — if not more than — the game. His contrived nicknames worked into his over-rehearsed home run calls make me cringe. His bellowing after each victory sounds more like a child having a tantrum than any genuine excitement.
I’m also at a loss as to what people find appealing in Waldman’s interview style. They are invariably filled with questions that shed no light on the player, strategy, or game. Does it really take any insight to ask, “Can you tell us what it meant to you to get that strike out in a clutch situation?” … or … “How important is it that you’ve won three in a row?” … or … “What does it feel like to know that you drove in the winning run?” Does anybody really expect a surprising or newsworthy answer from these softly tossed time-fillers?
Look…..I spend half my time yelling and rolling my eyes at them, but it really is part of the appeal. I’ve been used to at least one aloof person in the booth my entire life as a fan and, at this point, I agree that both are very much a part of the Yankee experience, and it would be a loss for me to not be able to call them both retards six times a game. Keep John and Suzyn.
I’ve always been surprised at how down people are on Sterling and Waldman. I don’t think they’re great, but they certainly don’t bother me – not like the ESPN or FOX teams on TV do. I think it boils down to the fact that I only listen to the radio team when I absolutely have to, meaning I don’t have access to TV, so I’m happy to get what is available. I think Sterling’s play by play calling is good enough, and as for Waldman… I don’t really have a strong opinion on her either way. i dont think they’re the greatest team ever, but they don’t bother me. as long as they keep me abreast of what’s going on (“Past a diving Jeter!”), that’s good enough for me
Now if you want to complain about announcing, take a look at ESPN on TV: they’re usually not even watching they game, they’re interviewing somebody about something else! and Joe Buck on FOX is horrendous! the only thing worse that Buck is the way FOX presents baseball – remember the 09 World Series when the pre show would mix together clips from previous games and Avatar trailers, because FOX had spent a zillion dollars on Avatar and they needed it do do well, so they were promoting it everywhere… that was terrible.
They both need to go. I thought Sterling was good before but the last couple years I really feel that father time has caught up with him. Waldman is a complete disgrace and shouldn’t be on the air anywhere never mind broadcasting the greatest franchise in the history of sports.
SWUNG ON !! THERE IT GOES !!
it’s a foul ball
John Rooke is an up and coming star. He’s been the long time voice of the Providence College Friars men’s basketball team and would make a great fit. He’s good, not sure I heard an error from the guy since he’s had the job(about 20 years). ESPN has been taking notice recently and he may not be available much longer.
Hal & Hank should go for him
Does anyone else hear Waldman sniffing the whole game in the microphone ??
it’s like she has a runny nose all summer
blow your nose u pig !!
it’s disgusting
They have both got to go. As entertaining as Sterling’s voice may be he has no idea how to call a game.
A typical Sterling call “…..hard hit ground ball….ITS A DOUBLE PLAY! AND THE YANKS ARE OUT OF THE INNING!” with absolutely no explanation of to whom the ball was hit or any other details of the play. Ever watch a game on TV and put the volume on mute and see how they blow call after call for an entire game? Its a joke. Ever not had cable and had to rely on them night after night through the summer?
It’s almost like that scene in the movie Major League when the announcer has too much to drink and the kid has to call the game; the batter rips a liner into center field (i think) and the outfielder runs in to make a spectacular diving catch, and the kid just says “fly ball…..caught” That’s what its like listening to them two, except with yelling.
As far as Waldman, her bland new england/ middle America accent annoys the hell out of me. Would it be that hard to find an announcer that has some semblance of a New York accent? I know we’re not going to get a guy like Rizzuto again, but we can get a bit closer than Waldman. I feel like she might start talking about Palin and “the heartland” any damn minute up there…
sorry, lot of pent up frustration against them…
I remember once when I was a kid watching a Cubs game on WGN and some Cub ripped a line drive down the 3rd base line, foul by inches. Harry Caray said simply, “High pop foul, out of play”.
[...] catcher defense, warning us not to put too much stock in the various projection systems, pondering whether the Yankees should make changes in the radio booth and reminding everyone that the Yankees — despite what you may have heard — are going [...]
I think ESPN is going to outbid CBS for the games. ESPN will have a better signal than 1050 am by then either grabbing a stronger AM or getting an FM. They will replace John and get someone less expensive unless the Yankees insist the keep him and I am hoping they do. Suzyn has said 2011 was to be her last year a few years back when she signed her last contract. ESPN may be better for Yankee fans because I am sure they will give them better coverage throughout the day and a better pre & post. CBS radio does not know they exist only when they broadcast them. WFAN has been all Metsies for the last 25 years. ESPN needs the Yankees and the Yankees want the money as far more than what the Sawx pull in.
I can not listen to the Yankees on radio. Can someone explain to me what Waldman is doing in the booth? Her voice drives me insane! How the heck did she get that job???
[...] partner to retain Sterling. Waldman’s job is less secure, and last year, Moshe ran down a list of possible replacements. Still, I’d be more surprised if the duo weren’t together next year on a new station [...]
Someone needs to send Susan “The Shill” Waldman packing and fast. Her cackle is annoying and she adds very little to the production. Granted, Sterling can barely call a game, but at least he’s not trying to sell something with every pitch like “The Shill” is. And while we’re at it, who do I have to send flowers to in order to get Lou Pinella out of the broadcast booth on TV!!? He’s horrible! He sounds so scripted and uncomfortable it’s painful to listen to. How about we send Kenny Singleton over to the radio along with John Flaratty and leave Micheal Kay with the two ex-jocks who have real potential…Paul O’Neil and Al Leiter.
I’m sorry folks, but Sterling’s ridiculous rants after a Yanks home run (among other things) are screaming, “I’m clever and I have a microphone…IIII HHAAAAVE A MICROOOPHONE!” Just hearing him on highlight recaps is an eye-blinking, head-shaker. “The Grandy-man can…” “You’re on the Mark… Teixeira!” Yeah John, I get it. “Tex” message. Yeah John, clever…stop John! “Waldo” is just useless, with nothing relevent to say. Why is she there? Those two must have iron-clad contracts, but Yanks & clown radio are OVER for me!