The New York Yankees announced Tuesday that they will wear a memorial patch on their jerseys the rest of the season to honor longtime radio broadcaster John Sterling. Sterling died Monday at age 87. The Yankees will debut the patch on May 18. Until then, they will honor Sterling with a “JS” on the back of their caps.
Here is the patch:
“I love it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about the Sterling patch. “I think it’s appropriate. Glad we’ll be able to honor his legacy throughout the rest of the season.”
Sterling, a New York City native, became a Yankees broadcaster in 1989 and remained with the ballclub until his retirement in 2024. He was known as the “voice of the Yankees” for more than an entire generation and called games for five World Series championship teams. In all, he worked 5,631 Yankees games, including over 5,000 consecutively.
“John Sterling breathed life and excitement into Yankees games for 36 years while wearing his passion for baseball and the Yankees on his sleeve,” the Yankees said in a statement on Monday. “He informed and entertained generations of fans with a theatrical and unapologetic style that was uniquely his own.
“John treasured his role as the voice of the New York Yankees, and his enthusiasm for the art of broadcasting perfectly complemented our city and our fans. The symmetry between John and his audience was both undeniable and magical, and his signature calls will resonate for as long as we put on pinstripes – especially after every Yankees win.”
Sterling is perhaps best known for his personalized home run call for each different Yankees player. “An A-bomb for A-Rod” was the Alex Rodriguez call, for example. And, of course, whenever the Yankees would win, he gave an extended “the” — “thuh-uh-uh-uh” — in the phrase “the Yankees win.”
The Yankees played Sterling’s “thuh-uh-uh-uh Yankees win” call following the final out of Monday’s win at Yankee Stadium. Manager Aaron Boone and star Aaron Judge said they would like the team to continue that moving forward.
