That’s baseball, Suzyn.
John Sterling, the much-beloved (and memed) voice of the Yankees, is known for botching a call or two in his time, with Wednesday night’s Yankees-Mariner matchup in Seattle providing the latest example.
Sterling and colleague Suzyn Waldman’s jobs have had an added level of difficulty through the coronavirus pandemic, with the longtime duo still not traveling to call games in person.
MORE: Full list of participants in the 2021 Home Run Derby
Watching games off a monitor makes things exceptionally tough for broadcasters. Exhibit 34,459,05: Wednesday night’s Aaron Judge home run, which Sterling accidentally called a home run later in the game again after seeing a replay:
IT IS GONE! Unfortunately, it was a replay of the home run, but it was a good replay!
I’m sorry, it’s on the monitor. What am I supposed to do? pic.twitter.com/R2lS61Au0o
— John Sterling Calls (@JSterlingCalls) July 8, 2021
The hilarious — and slightly upsetting — exchange between the two:
Sterling: “Now here’s Judge — and the breaking ball is hit in the air to deep left. That ball is high, it is far, it is gone! Short pause. Unfortunately, that was a replay of the home run. But it was a good replay.”
Waldman: “Hm.”
Sterling: “I’m sorry, it was on the monitor. What am I supposed to do?”
Waldman: “This is a great way to do a game, isn’t it?”
Sterling: “Yep.”
Waldman: “Yep.”
Really, Waldman’s tremendous and obvious annoyance in her hmms really push the segment into the high comedy realm.
Sterling, who turned 83 on July 4, is still going strong. Given his age, though, one must ask how many more years he’s got behind the microphone.
Let them travel!