John Sterling is a legend among broadcasters in Major League Baseball. Sterling has been calling New York Yankees games since 1989, and he’s still going strong at 84 years old. One would think that Sterling has seen it all after covering the sport live for five decades, but baseball has a way of always finding something new to give us. On Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox, Sterling became the story of the game for showing some grit and resilience in the press box.
Yankees’ 84-year-old announcer drilled by foul ball to face, but didn’t miss a beat
John Sterling didn’t miss a beat after catching a foul ball to the face in the press box.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
As New York was closing out its 3-1 victory in the ninth inning, Sterling was hit in the face with a foul ball. The ball made a loud thump as he entered the press box, and Sterling could be heard yelling “ow! ow!” before saying the ball hit him. Still, Sterling shook it off and made it to the final out to call another Yankees win.
WFAN tweeted the video of the ball hitting Sterling on Saturday night, and it’s pretty incredible to watch:
That ball really seemed to hit him hard. Of course, Sterling demurred by calling it a “glancing blow” after the game.
Here’s what the call sounded like to fans watching the game.
Justin Turner was the Red Sox batter who hit the foul ball. After the game, he signed it for Sterling with a special message.
You think a baseball to the face is going to stop Sterling from finishing a game? No chance. The Yankees need all the wins they can get to keep pace in the AL East this season, and Sterling was there with his signature call — “theeeeee Yankees win!” — to punctuate the victory.
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