XM MLB Chat

California Strikes Out: Major League Pitcher Merrill Kelly turns down Padres $40 million offer citing draconian California state taxes-Jonathan Turley

2026-03-03T21:33:00.001-05:00

RHP Merrill Kelly, Baseball Reference.…”Kelly agreed

“I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California,” the right-hander told “Foul Territory.””

3/1/26, “California Strikes Out: Major League Pitcher Turns Down Padres $40 Million Offer Due to State Taxes,” Jonathan Turley

“This week, “there is no joy in Mudville” – the mighty Padres have struck out.

The California Padres thought that they had secured Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Merrill Kelly with an offer of $40 million for just two years. The Diamondbacks were offering that payout over three years, but Kelly took the Diamondbacks. The reason? California’s ruinous tax burden is fueling an exodus of wealthy taxpayers and businesses from the state. It is the latest example of how Democrats [and “Republicans”] have reversed the Gold Rush with a long line of U-Hauls heading to more responsible states.

Explaining his decision, the pitcher told the media that “I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California.”

With the calls for billionaire taxes and attacks on the wealthy as “not paying their fair share,” Democrats and unions have doubled down on their “eat the rich” rhetoric.

The problem is that wealth, like the wealthy, is mobile.

Both are leaving, and the current estimate stands at a possible $2 trillion fleeing the state over the last year. California continues to lead the nation in the loss of citizens to other states.

In the meantime, Democrats are continuing their high-spending pattern under Gov. Gavin Newsom from boondoggle projects to reparations to bloated union pension agreements.

With California’s 13% tax rate on income above $1 million, players view California as illusory in terms of elite contracts. What the team giveth, the state taketh away. That does not include the higher collateral taxes and costs,

including gasoline costs (which are also the highest in the nation).

It appears that the high-spending, high-taxing policies are not just benefiting red states but also their baseball teams. As a Cubs fan, I would be delighted except for the fact that Chicago and Illinois are also in the hands of Democrats

pursuing the same disastrous policies.

The irony is that Texas and Florida could end up

not only with more jobs

but better baseball players.”

..........................

California Strikes Out: Major League Pitcher Merrill Kelly turns down Padres $40 million offer citing punishing California state taxes-Jonathan Turley

2026-03-03T14:27:00.001-05:00

RHP Merrill Kelly, Baseball Reference.…”Kelly agreed to a two-year contract worth an estimated $40 million with the Diamondbacks, according to ESPN. Although the Padres offered a comparable deal at three years instead of two, California’s 13% tax rate on income above $1 million proved a key difference.

“I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California,” the right-hander told “Foul Territory.””

3/1/26, “California Strikes Out: Major League Pitcher Turns Down Padres $40 Million Offer Due to State Taxes,” Jonathan Turley

“This week, “there is no joy in Mudville” – the mighty Padres have struck out.

Explaining his decision, the pitcher told the media that “I don’t think it’s any secret on how much money you get taken out of your pocket when you go to California.”

With the calls for billionaire taxes and attacks on the wealthy as “not paying their fair share,” Democrats and unions have doubled down on their “eat the rich” rhetoric.

The problem is that wealth, like the wealthy, is mobile.

Both are leaving, and the current estimate stands at a possible $2 trillion fleeing the state over the last year. California continues to lead the nation in the loss of citizens to other states.

In the meantime, Democrats are continuing their high-spending pattern under Gov. Gavin Newsom from boondoggle projects to reparations to bloated union pension agreements.

including gasoline costs (which are also the highest in the nation).

pursuing the same disastrous policies.

The irony is that Texas and Florida could end up

not only with more jobs

but better baseball players.”

…………….

John Sterling Show, WABC radio, Saturdays 4-5pm. Dec. 6, 2025 guests: John Flaherty and Rickie Ricardo

2025-12-09T00:08:00.001-05:00

John Sterling podcast, Sat., 12/6/25, 4-5pm

First guest: John Flaherty, former Yankee player and YES Network analyst

Second guest: Rickie Ricardo, "Spanish Radio Play by Play Voice of the NY Yankees & Philadelphia Eagles. Talk show host on 94WIP and WFAN"

..............................

“Holy Schlitt!” NY Post back page, Fri., Oct. 3, 2025. Final: Yankees 4, Red Sox 0, winning pitcher Cam Schlittler

2025-10-03T06:26:00.004-04:00

Above, Fri., 10/3/25, NY Post back page

Above, Fri., Oct. 3, 2025, NY Post front page

………………………….

10/2/25 final score, NY Yankees 4, Boston Red Sox 0

NY Yankees winning pitcher, Cam Schlittler

..................

Pres. George Bush is about to throw first pitch at Yankee Stadium and Derek Jeter tells him, “Don’t bounce it, they’ll boo you.” World Series Game 3, 10/30/2001

2025-09-11T18:46:00.004-04:00

10/30/2001, Yankee Stadium, World Series Game 3, “Behind The Scenes Of Pres. Bush’s 1st Pitch At 2001 World Series–Weeks After 9-11,” You Tube

Above two images, 10/30/2001, Derek Jeter chats with Pres. Bush before his first pitch, screen shots from You Tube video. ““Don’t bounce it, they’ll boo you,” Bush remembers him [Jeter] saying.” Bush relates this at 2:40.

Above, 10/30/2001, Bush emerges from Yankee dugout, screen shot, mlb video

Above, 10/30/2001, Yankee Stadium, Bush heads to the mound, screen shot mlb video

Above, 10/30/2001, Bush on the mound at Yankee Stadium World Series game 3 vs Diamondbacks. Final score, 2-1 Yankees, 7 innings pitched by Roger Clemens, 8th and 9th innings pitched by Mariano Rivera

............

……………………………….

Zack Britton sees disconnent bewteen players andn analytics-NJ.com

2025-08-23T13:07:00.006-04:00

2/6/2014, "Retired Yankees pitcher says there’s a ‘disconnect’ between analytics and players," NJ.com

Updated: Nov. 28, 2023, 5:38 p.m.

"Zack Britton spoke on Tuesday about analytics in the Yankees organization."

By Bridget Hyland | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

"After retiring in November, Zack Britton shared that he felt that while he was with the Yankees, there was a “disconnect” between the analytics and the players.

Speaking on “Foul Territory” on Tuesday, the 2016 Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year award winner doubled down on his assertion.

FIXING THE YANKEES:

Britton threw his support behind Yankees’ Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman when asked if he thought they were “good” by Sherman. The problem, according to the 2016 Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year award winner, is that the team’s analytics don’t always mesh with the culture.

“I just know as a player there, a lot of times in the clubhouse I felt like there was this disconnect between some of the things that we were presented with and what we were seeing on the field as players. And sometimes that creates, you know, that rift which is not what you want. From a clubhouse culture standpoint, you want everything to mesh well together, whether it be the communication from the front office, to the play on the field, and I felt that sometimes the two just weren’t connecting well.

“What the players were saying, we were like, ‘Hey, we should be doing this, and this has been working well.’ Then sometimes the way that that was implemented through the data didn’t line up, and I don’t think I’m the only player that feels that way.”

Britton’s sentiments are very similar to what Yankees captain Aaron Judge intimated was the problem with the team at the end of the season.

“I think there are certain things you can’t put a number on,” Judge told reporters

after revealing that players needed to sift through a lot of analytics throughout the season.

Those numbers didn’t add up to much as the Yankees finished the season 82-80 - their worst finish in a 162-game season since 1992 - and missed the postseason for the first time since 2016.

The solution, according to Britton, is to bring more players back into leadership roles. People who have been able to incorporate analytics into the game successfully in the past.

Perhaps this is why the Yankees hired Brad Ausmus to be the team’s bench coach. In his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Ausmus said something Judge and Britton would probably like.

“A lot of the data is extremely valuable - but so is experience,” he told reporters."

...........................................

Chicago White Sox billboard congratulates home grown Pope Leo XIV, May 9, 2025

2025-05-12T03:34:00.003-04:00

Above, Friday, May 9, 2025, "The image of new Pope Leo XIV is cast on the big video board at Rate Field at a White Sox-Marlins game on May 9, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)"...Final score, White Sox 6, Marlins 2

.......................................................

Added: MLB

Above, “New Pope goes way back with the Great American Pastime,” MLB.com, 5/11/25…Florida Marlins @ Chicago White Sox

“Pope Leo XIV is an avid White Sox fan. Want proof? In 2005, the FOX broadcast caught the future pontiff taking in Game 1 of the Fall Classic at then-U.S. Cellular Field on the South Side of Chicago.” White Sox won World Series in 4 games

………………………………………

Added: Pope Leo at 2005 Chicago White Sox World Series game

Above, 2005 World Series Chicago White Sox game, Pope Leo in the stands, ABC 7, Chicago, White Sox went on to win World Series v Astros in 4 games

.......................

New York Yankees 2025 Spring Training schedule of televised games

2025-02-11T00:09:00.006-05:00

via Bryan Hoch twitter, 2/10/25

.................

Star over Bethlehem

2024-12-24T17:40:00.005-05:00

Above, Star over Bethlehem

Above, Dec. 1955, Christmas in Ardsley, New York

...........................................

Juan Soto joins the Mets….”The Yankees no longer get the player because they’re the Yankees.”…Mike Francesa, 12/8/24

2024-12-09T04:11:00.004-05:00

"The Yankees no longer get the player because they're the Yankees."...Mike Francesa, 12/8/24, @13:53

12/8/24, "Juan Soto reportedly signs with Mets--Mike Francesa reacts to the $765 million contract," Mike Francesa Podcast on You Tube

..............................

Comment: Thanks for one happy year, Juan. As expected, we'll return to the hopeless mediocrity of the Yankees. Nothing will change unless the Yankees are sold to a new, richer owner.

............

John Sterling’s a rare gem, don’cha know?–Mike DiMauro, The Day (Eastern Connecticut),10/10/2011

2024-10-01T02:42:00.002-04:00

“What, the Yankees should go out and hire someone who hates them? Or is more boring than geometry?...Let me just say this: I don’t care whether you like him. I like him. And Suzyn Waldman, too….It’s OK to enhance the product with some personality, you know…It’s baseball. Not “Meet the Press.”…10/10/2011

10/10/2011, “Sterling’s a rare gem, don’cha know?” The Day (Eastern Connecticut), Mike DiMauro, The Day Assistant Sports Editor

“Want to know the hard part? It wasn’t losing. [Yankees had just lost 2011 ALDS to Detroit Tigers] Showbiz, as John Sterling likes to say. Besides, when you witness your chest-thumping rival’s epic (quite epic, actually) collapse during a pennant race, a loss in the playoffs is a duller ache.

It’s just not particularly comforting at the moment to think about Yankee baseball next summer without Sterling. [“Randy Levine, the president of the Yankees, who is currently negotiating a new team radio contract with several outlets, would not comment on Sterling’s future but called him ‘a unique character and a real asset.’]

Let me just say this: I don’t care whether you like him. I like him.

And Suzyn Waldman, too.

So do millions of Yankee fans, otherwise known as the target audience. Sterling and Waldman are part of

every day from April through October, eccentric, eclectic, entertaining and everywhere the season takes us.

It was this line, though, in a recent feature in the New York Times about Sterling- writer Bill Pennington [“a New England native”] captured Sterling brilliantly –

that has me worried:

“Randy Levine, the president of the Yankees, who is currently negotiating a new team radio contract with several outlets, would not comment on Sterling’s future but called him ‘a unique character and a real asset.‘ The team has the right to approve all announcers chosen by its radio partner.”

A real asset? What is he, inventory? Gee, Randy. Don’t, you know, blow out your thesaurus or anything finding the right words

for a guy who has been part of every Yankee game for the last 23 years [as of 2011].

Sterling is like your favorite movie. You know the lines are coming. You know the inflection.

But you just can’t wait to hear them again.

It’s not just “Robbie Cano, don’cha know.”

It’s not just “you can’t predict baseball” or a rant about the rain. It’s theater. Like the way he introduces the engineer for the radio broadcasts: Carlos Silva. Sterling pronounces it “SEAL-vah.”

Here’s how it goes: I’m in the car. It’s 6:30. Cue the Yankee jingle. “Live from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, it’s New … York … Yankees … baseball! And tonight, on a cold, damp, dreary, horrible night, it’s the first game of a three-game series between the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.

“Along with our producer engineer Carlos SEAL-vah …”

And I giggle.

Without fail.

And that’s the point. I giggle. So do all the other Yankee fans,

otherwise known as the target audience. It’s entertainment. And Sterling not only gets it, he delivers it.

It’s baseball. Not “Meet the Press.” Baseball. The toy department. Entertainment.

This is something that flies over the head,

quite majestically, of Sterling’s critics.

Pennington reported that Sterling “has spawned more than 100 Web sites dedicated to denigrating his emblematic calls and his anomalous broadcasting style.”

Let me guess: Those people gave up their careers teaching at Yale and need to pass the time.

Then there’s Phil Mushnick, a newspaper columnist at the New York Post, whose repertoire has shrunk to killing Sterling, Mike Francesa and ESPN. (Rinse. Repeat).

The Times [10/1/2011, “Voice of Yankees Draws High Ratings and Many Critics,” NY Times, Bill Pennington] reported that Mushnick “has written more than 270 articles about Sterling,” calling him a “narcissistic, condescending blowhard.”

Then the best quote of all:

“Yankees fans who like him

are people who just want someone to root for the team,”

Mushnick said.

What, the Yankees should go out and hire someone who hates them?

Or is more boring than geometry?

And it’s not like Sterling and Waldman never criticize the Yankees. They do it often. (Just wait till they fail to advance a runner).

And send up smoke signals the next time you hear criticism of the home team on the Shaw’s/WEEI Red Sox Radio Network, a carnival of nightly cheerleading (and Yankee game updates). Seriously. The only place you hear more nicknames is in a frat house: Youk, Petey, Gonzo, Pap, Scoot, Els, Salty and Tek.

It’s OK to enhance the product with some personality, you know. John Sterling makes you listen because of what’s coming. And what’s not.

Like one night this summer [2011]. We’re on vacation in Ocean City, N.J., sipping some euphoric nectar on the porch listening to the ballgame. Sterling is apoplectic that home plate umpire Jerry Layne is taking too long to call balls and strikes.

Suddenly, he breaks into song:

“Everybody’s hand in hand … waitin’ for Jerry Layne.”

It’s a takeoff on an old Sinatra lyric (“everybody’s hand in hand, swingin’ down the lane.”)

I’m sorry. But that’s perfect, brilliant

and the essence of John Sterling.

And I want him back for as long as he wants to do it.

I believe I speak for Yankees Universe on this.

And in this case, we should be the only ones who count.”

………………………………

“This is the opinion of Mike DiMauro.”

........................

John Sterling is back on Yankee radio tonight with Suzyn Waldman. Thank-you so much, John.

2024-09-24T19:58:00.003-04:00

On WFAN radio, 660AM, 101.9FM. Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, Orioles at Yankees. It's a whole new world....

Tues., 9/24/24, "It's a JUDGIAN blast! Aaron Judge hits number 56! Here he comes: Here Comes the Judge!" John Sterling Calls twitter

Above, 9/24/24, John Sterling calls twitter

Final score at Yankee Stadium: Baltimore Orioles 5, Yankees 3

...............................

Below, two additional views of "Judgian blast:"

................

Craig Carton tapped to do play by play for 3 games in Yankee radio booth, August 10-11, 2024. Decision on full time Sterling replacement to be made in off season

2024-08-11T00:50:00.003-04:00

A decision on Sterling’s full time replacement will be made in the off season. Hearing Craig Carton doing play by play in the Yankee radio booth on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 must mean someone realized that “doing play by play in the minors” is irrelevant to having any job in the two-person Yankee radio booth. In the case of choosing John Sterling’s replacement for play by play, the person needs to be a natural talker, preferably someone who’s already succeeded in talk radio, who’s thus going to be at ease participating in give and take in the booth with analyst Suzyn Waldman. Further, he isn’t going to have a fake, “chirpy” delivery during play by play as others do in an attempt to compensate for the fact that they have no personality and no confidence. With the exception of Craig Carton and Rickie Ricardo, none of the others trying out for Sterling’s replacement belong on radio at all. Craig sounds perfect w. Suzyn. What isn’t known is how much they’d be willing to pay Carton and what other job prospects he may have.

…………………………………….

Added: Decision on full time Sterling replacement to be made in off season:

7/15/24, “WFAN taps Craig Carton to call 3 Yankees games in August alongside Suzyn Waldman,” The Athletic, NYTimes.com

“A new but familiar voice will soon rejoin WFAN — and in a way he hasn’t been heard before.

The station will tap Craig Carton to work alongside Suzyn Waldman on three New York Yankees broadcasts next month, Carton announced on the station Monday alongside hosts Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber.

He’ll be on during the series at home against the Texas Rangers from Aug. 9 – 11. Carton said that the Yankees had called him directly about the gig.

“It’s a great honor,” he said. “It’s a great privilege.”

Carton left WFAN last summer to focus on his morning talk show with Fox Sports 1.

Carton said he won’t be over the top.

“I want to be clear about that,” he said. “I’m not going to do something that’s clownish. I got to leave the crazy home run calls to the memory of John and his greatness of all of the years. But I’ll do my best. I’ll make sure that it’s unmistakably me and it’s just awesome.”

He added that he hopes he brings the Yankees a bit of luck. The team has struggled of late, going 8-18 over its last 26 games. It lost its final game of the first half Sunday in brutal fashion, getting walked off by the Baltimore Orioles after committing a pair of errors. Still, the Yankees are just a game behind the O’s for first place in the American League East.

“All they really need is a little positive juju,” Carton said. “Like a good luck charm, if you will. The (New York) Mets had the rally pimp in April. They had Grimace in June. They had some fat guy dancing to ABBA, I think, now. That has worked for them.”

A week ago, the New York State Broadcasters Association announced that Carton would be inducted into its Hall of Fame this year. Waldman has been working with a rotation of play-by-players since John Sterling retired in April. Sterling had been calling Yankees games for 36 years. He had paired with Waldman for 20 seasons.

As for whether Carton would ever consider being the Yankees’ radio play-by-play man full-time, it didn’t sound like much of an option.

“There’s got to be a lot of zeros in that check,” he said.

Carton added he’s not sure exactly how far he’ll go if he feels the need to criticize the team while calling the games.

“Here’s the real question,” he said. “At some point, if you see something like Giancarlo Stanton walking to second base, you might have to be critical. I’m wondering, does my phone ring on the way home from the Yankees?”

Since Sterling’s retirement, Waldman has worked games with Justin Shackil, Emmanuel Berbari, Rickie Ricardo and Brendan Burke. The expectation is that WFAN will use the rest of the season to try out different play-by-players and

make their decision on a full-time replacement in the offseason.

“I am a very blessed human being,” Sterling said in a statement at the time. “I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It’s all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy. I look forward to seeing everyone again on Saturday.””

..........................................

Added: For Yankee Radio Booth fans only, written in Oct. 2011:

Oct. 15, 2011, "John Sterling, Suzyn Waldman, and the Yankee Radio booth," by Susan

John Sterling has called every Yankee post season game from 1995 to the present along with 162 regular season games from 1989. He has seen most if not every pitch thrown in regular and post season for 23 years. A recent NY Times article quotes Michael Kay saying Sterling does 162 games a year and that seems like a lot to Kay who does about 125. While stating he's done about 3800 games the article doesn't make clear that Sterling has done 156 post season games. No one else has done that. TV doesn't do that.

Yankee radio and its voices have provided continuity for fans through entire seasons, Sterling since 1989 and through post seasons starting in 1995 and Sterling and Waldman since 2005.

Unhappy with Yankee stadium attendance in the mid and late 1990's Yankee ownership said "nobody would come to the Bronx," and wanted to move the stadium to Manhattan (parag. 6) (cit. #4). Suzyn Waldman remembers this, because she's been covering the Yankees since the late 1980's first as a radio beat reporter, later as an analyst, and since the mid '90's on television in varous capacities, and has been Sterling's partner on radio since 2005. In 1996 the Yankees were 7th in AL attendance. In 1998 they ranked 8th in attendance through August (parag. 18). They didn't get to #1 in AL attendance until 2003. These facts don't usually come up in conversation and don't fit the narrative that the Yankees always have more attendance, more money, and are just luckier. As a fan it's preferable to listen to someone who has experienced all this and who will fill in important details others may leave out.

Alternatives include those who would define the team as Bud Selig has prescribed since 1996 (cit. #2 at end of this post). Or someone "more boring than geometry."

21 of those 156 post season games went into extra innings. Sterling did share play by play with partners until he began doing all innings in 2005 but he called the majority and likely was watching most of the rest. Now that the Yankees are successful and have a somewhat porous front office with out of town owners (context below, citation 7), the Yankee radio booth is prime for exploitation. Whether by a celebrity-seeker or for what some perceive as the pot of gold, the glittering financial opportunities of shaping public opinion.

Columnist Mike DiMauro on the Times John Sterling article:

"Then the best quote of all:

"Yankees fans who like him are people who just want someone to root for the team," (Phil) Mushnick said.

What, the Yankees should go out and hire someone who hates them?

Or is more boring than geometry?

And it's not like Sterling and Waldman never criticize the Yankees. They do it often. (Just wait till they fail to advance a runner)....

It's OK to enhance the product with some personality, you know.

John Sterling makes you listen because of what's coming. And what's not."...

As if being a Yankee fan is controversial or worse, the Times quotes a fan saying some people think the team should have a 'network level' play by play announcer--implying someone who wasn't a Yankee fan. (So it doesn't matter what you give Yankee fans they'll always be there, besides we want a Bud Selig/ESPN robot in there who'll talk up what a great idea it would be to let the best Yankee pitchers all go and pitch in the next World Baseball Classic because it would show the Yankees are 'unselfish'--might be the thought process). The article does state Sterling freely rips the team when they do something wrong just like the average fan. The word 'homer' doesn't remotely apply to Sterling if it means only saying good things.

'Not being a Yankee fan' means something different than not being a fan of most other teams.

There is often deep bitterness whether conscious or not. Perhaps due in part to 24/7 anti Yankee negativity (parag. 3). The Yankee fan experience, images of its players and the like are easy to destroy because a lot of people want to and no one is really looking out for them. Attack squads are usually at the ready to diminish the Yankee fan experience. No one tries to stop them when they get on a roll-not even in the interest of common decency. Apparently lead to believe they don't deserve to be a fan as much as anyone else, some fans retreat at such times, passively thinking oh well, it's part of the territory with the Yankees.

It isn't like this with other markets and teams but it is in NY and nationally with the Yankees.

One NY tabloid whose owner made his fortune via his company Boston Properties has shown a fixation with Roger Clemens. Perhaps some people will never get over Clemens. The publisher adores dictator Fidel Castro, and both are baseball fans. This person has been allowed to insert one of his employees inside the Yankee Radio booth during play by play every 5th inning for several years. It's a paid sponsorship capitalizing on the Yankee name and the implied endorsement of John, Suzyn, and the Yankees to advance the advertiser's particular baseball agenda. The goal of any advertiser in any medium is to sell something, to influence public opinion. No amount of money makes this an editorially sound idea for the Yankees. I've never heard a booth guest who could provide more than Suzyn's peerless reporting though she and John are generous and welcoming to 'guests' and create an environment in which the guest can appear to be adding something. The main individual selected by the tabloid owner to represent him in the Yankee radio booth the past few years is not a Yankee fan. This was not news to me having seen this person's version of events when he was on Bud Selig's copywriting staff at MLB.com a few years ago. That this individual given a half inning inside the Yankee radio booth about 5 days out of seven is not a Yankee fan was great news to a professional Yankee hater. As the Yankee hater said, "After all, if you ain’t with ‘em, you’re usually against ‘em!"

The fan experience of the Yankee Radio booth is on hold until the tabloid reporter leaves. Suzyn and John are such pros at smoothing things over a casual listener might not realize something unpleasant and even disrespectful just happened.

I trust both Suzyn and John to give the good and the bad but always from a perspective of someone who cares about the team. Not someone who's trying to be smarter or make a name for themselves or get on ESPN. Being 'a homer' to NY credentialed media doesn't mean voting for a Yankee in post season awards. It can mean helping the Yankee front office to smear favorite players in the media. Yankee suits can certainly request radio broadcasters cover player issues one way or another. Why wouldn't they since it's well known they do it in other media? I haven't heard Suzyn or John say they've been told to say one thing or another of course. Neither would do that. As a listener with particular interest on this topic, I've heard a few instances that sounded influenced from outside the radio booth. There is one person most likely to be giving editorial orders to Yankee radio and if you're reading this you probably know who it is. The few instances I refer to were 'high value' issues. Once or twice I've had to turn the radio off for awhile after one of these events.

Widespread bias against the Yankees or anyone is stealing. Stealing from players, the team, their life work and lastly it steals from fans.

Others can have a fan experience but Yankee fans can't, is the idea. I need to know the voices in the radio booth know what we as fans are up against everywhere in the outside world. John and Suzyn have been the antidote. They have endless knowledge and they know the big picture and I hope they both stay as long as they wish. What is waiting to replace the gracious environment they have created are shrill, formulaic bores. Sterling is a natural talker which is one of the reasons he's good at play by play. Many of those I hear doing play by play are not natural talkers or great personalities. They rely on formulas to get them through. The ear splitting high decibel chirpy, sing-song affectation is common, for example with Mets radio guys. The technique is to end a phrase on a low register, then pick up the next phrase 2 or 3 octaves higher, splitting the average ear drum.

This is a violation of the first law of radio, which is that it's a one to one medium, one person talking to one other person. Or allowing us to listen in on a one on one conversation.

With many of today's baseball radio talkers it's sounds more like a puppet show. Perhaps it's intended to make the game sound more exciting. ESPN's Dan Shulman uses another device, an affectation of the voice rising, rising in crescendo to thunderous level at inappropriate times. I'm thinking he's about to tell me something big and it ends up being nothing, like a routine catch of a ball in the outfield and a normal throw to first base with no big effect either way on the game. One team's booth has a schtick where they try not to allow a second to go by without the other guy filling it up with unnecessary words. Fans thereby aren't allowed moments to hear the stadium presence. This shows a lack of confidence in an announcer's ability to do spontaneous give and take in a booth. John and Suzyn aren't like that, they talk in normal, conversational tones (with the occasional exception of a home run call which other guys do as well but none with famous tags attached to players that become known around the world, 'don't-cha know.') Sterling's voice allows one to relax and enjoy the game.

Joe Castiglione is one of few others out there who seems like a natural talker where you're not always worried he's going to trip over himself.

As noted in the NY Times article, Sterling has never missed a game. I was quite surprised to learn from the article that he only makes $375,000+ in salary. I would have thought around $1 million. Regarding Phil Mushnick's remarks about him I see no reality whatsoever. As far as occasional mistakes, I've listened to other guys and they all make them. In Sterling's case, Waldman usually corrects what needs to be corrected and she does it graciously.

The Yankee TV side, the YES Network, is like a junior ESPN.

It's run by a conglomeration of interests with the Yankees owning a reported 35%. The majority is owned by Goldman Sachs and hedge fund people who it's said "want a partnership with the Yankees about how the games are broadcast.'' For years YES Network Yankee studio shows (pre and post game) have promoted a non-Yankee player who is also a Bud Selig and ESPN favorite. YES promoted the non-Yankee player's record for a regular season stat when they mentioned Mariano Rivera's name which certainly helped the image of the non-Yankee player. The same player received similar free promotion on Yankee radio this year.

I hope both John and Suzyn remain on Yankee radio as long as they want. If something different happens, I probably won't be listening.

=====================

Citation 1, NY Times article on Sterling, 10/1/11

10/1/11, "Voice of Yankees Draws High Ratings and Many Critics," NY Times, Bill Pennington

(162 reg. season games x 23 years is 3726. Plus 156 post season is a total of 3882.)

---------------------

Citation 2, a total of 4 items on spreading a culture of negativity around the Yankees:

Two items from Joel Sherman, first from his 2006 book on the 1996 Yankees, second from one of his NY Post articles; followed by an item from MLB Network 7/31/10, followed by a Bud Selig statement on WFAN, 10/5/06

Joel Sherman finds the Commissioner's office to be the source of much anti Yankee negativity. From his 2006 book about the 1996 Yankees, "Birth of a Dynasty," p. 311:

"Unfortunately for the legacy of this group, the success of these Yankees (1996 team) coincided with

a powerful push by central baseball to convince fans that the disparity between the financial "haves" and "have-nots" was destroying the competitive balance of the sport. The Yankees came to embody the big-market superpowers. They were demonized for buying championships.

They were cast as villains by a Commissioner's Office that saw the advantages of portraying them as a prop in a strategy to win salary concessions from the players in collective bargaining,

Thus the Yankees of this era do not receive near the amount of credit they deserve for what they accomplished."...

Page 311 from Joel Sherman in his 2006 book, "Birth of a Dynasty," about the 1996 Yankees. The Yankee organization has failed to address this problem as baseball media has become even more centralized under Bud Selig. It wouldn't take much effort and it could make a big difference. Negativity is used because it works. On the other hand, it seems 'the Yankees' (whoever that is) view the media as a tool to smear their own players.

Second from the NY Post on negativity, parag. 3:

From Joel Sherman's column, 9/21/07: "As a rival executive (of the Yankees) said recently,

“...It is staggering the amount of negative noise that comes in New York (from media and fans) when your team spends that much money, has their expectations and has their history. It is bad anywhere, but in New York it is so much louder and so much more relentless. To stay the course, to stay yourself, I really admire that.”"

From Joel Sherman's NY Post column, 9/21/07, "Steadiness and Sturdiness"

----------
MLB Network host compares Yankees to dictators abusing human rights:

7/31/10, "Yankee deadline moves trample others as if they were third world victims" MLB Network TV anchor's response to what the Yankees did at the trading deadline noted by commenter to Yankee LoHud blog:

7/31/10, ""Betsy July 31st, 2010 at 4:52 pm

MLB Network's "Matt V. (Vasgersian) is really a freaking clown; he just said the Yankees tramped over the other teams

like countries tramping down on 3rd world nations (or something like that).""

from blog thread, Park designated for assignment," 7/31 /10

(This is the line Bud Selig wants MLB media people to beat into the ground. ed.)

4th item, 10/5/06, Bud Selig on WFAN:

"Chris Russo to Bud Selig: You must be happy the Yankees lost today"

Chris Russo on WFAN: Bud, I know you probably won't answer this but you must be happy the Yankees lost today, must be thrilled, because this helps your argument for parity.

How about that?

Bud Selig answers: "Well, you're right, Chris, I'm not going to answer that."

----------------------------

Citation 3, two Mike Lupica articles:

12/5/2010, "Shame on Yankees for dropping ball and insulting Derek Jeter during heated contract talks,"

Mike Lupica, NY Daily News

""They wanted it to look, in the more heated parts of this, as though Jeter was the greedy one. They were twitchy to get out there what they said Jeter wanted,

were delighted to get in the papers

that Jeter wanted $23 million or $24 million a year, whatever the Yankees said he was asking for.

Not just delighted. Thrilled.

They thought it made them look good. But you know who has always made them look good? Jeter has.

It is Jeter who has honored all the ideas about the Yankees that the Yankees sell, constantly."...

Second Lupica article:

5/19/11, "Yankee brass handled the Posada situation so poorly, you long for the George Steinbrenner days," Mike Lupica, NY Daily News. (page 2 of article)

-------------------------------

Citation 4, Yankee attendance in 1998, and "nobody will come to the Bronx" 9/28/1998:

"To (George) Steinbrenner's annoyance, the Yankees ranked

eighth in attendance

per home game through August (1998)."...

...From Business Week article, "The Yankees: Steinbrenner's Money Machine," 9/28/1998, by Anthony Bianco with Mark Hyman in Baltimore

And,

5/03/2008, "Nobody will come to the Bronx," Remember those days, asks Suzyn Waldman on Yankee Radio, XMMLbChat.blogspot.com

----------------------------

Citation 5, YES Network and Goldman Sachs items

3/16/09, Goldman Sachs leads group loaning $105 million to cover final cost overruns at new Yankee Stadium, Sports Business Journal, "Yankees get new Loan for Ballpark," by Daniel Kaplan

8/3/2007, "SPORTS BUSINESS; A Stake in the YES Network Is on the Market, but Not the Yankees' Share," NY Times, R. Sandomir

Gerald Cardinale, managing director of Goldman Sachs and YES Network board member:

''It's a bit of a sideshow if the Yankees stay in or out, if they do or don't sell,'' (Gerald) Cardinale said. Any new financial partners, he added, ''will want a partnership with the Yankees about how the games are broadcast.''

10/20/08, "Yankees, Cowboys, and Goldman form sports services company" Reuters

8/2/2007, "Goldman Sachs would consider YES Network sale for right offer," AP, USA Today

"The Yankees formed YES in 2001 and launched the network the following year. Yankee Global Enterprises, the team's parent company, owns about 35 percent of the network, with the remainder controlled by Goldman and Providence Equity Partners, and an investment group headed by former New Jersey Nets owner Ray Chambers."
---------------------------

#6, Suzyn Waldman citations

7/16/10, "Yankees radio announcer Suzyn Waldman cultivated unique relationship with owner George Steinbrenner," Bob Raissman, NY Daily News

"Right from the late 1980s when she landed in the world according to George M. Steinbrenner.

"I like my women to spend my money and look real pretty," Steinbrenner bellowed during their first face-to-face meeting in 1988. "I don't like them to be pilots, policemen or sports reporters."

Waldman had traveled to Tampa on her own dime to interview the Yankees' principal owner. In a letter, she convinced him she was worthy.

Waldman wrote that her 5:05 p.m. WFAN "Yankees Report" was heard by more people than those who read all the metropolitan area newspapers combined ("I should be taken seriously," she wrote). Her letter made the rounds of the ladies in Steinbrenner's office. Waldman walked in a hero, only to be greeted by Steinbrenner's chauvinistic babble....

That's how this relationship began. Early on, long before she became the Yankees radio analyst, he critiqued her work, canvassing his favorite Manhattan saloon keepers and asking: "What do you think of that girl?" In times of trouble, Steinbrenner was there. He became a coveted source, providing the kind of access and info other reporters did not normally receive."...

Yankee Team Broadcasters, MLB.com: Suzyn Waldman bio is number 5

--------------------------

Citation #7, Yankee leadership, 2 Ken Davidoff articles

10/2/08, "Cashman aims to win with dysfunctional Yankees," Newsday, Ken Davidoff (link inactive but posted elsewhere) ""But in their quest to regain the mantle as baseball's elite team, they still face a quandary that shows no sign of going away:

They're muddled at the top, above Cashman.

From speaking to employees up and down the organizational food chain, you still get the sense that

no one knows who's truly in charge.

Whereas George Steinbrenner ruled all in his prime, obsessing over both $189-million agreements with Derek Jeter and uncollected garbage on the practice field in Tampa, the

organization lacks clarity today. The power flows, very unevenly, through these four outlets:

1. Hal Steinbrenner. He has worked hard in the last year to establish a relationship with Cashman and the baseball people, commuting to Yankee Stadium from his Tampa home nearly every week. But he is human, unlike his dad, in that he can't get his tentacles over everything.
2. Hank Steinbrenner. The "advisory-board" comments -- there will be no advisory board, Cashman confirmed Wednesday -- provide further proof that Hank is a highly entertaining fraud. As long as he's got his last name, however, Hank won't be ignored altogether.
3. Felix Lopez. The husband of George Steinbrenner's younger daughter Jessica, Lopez has exploited Hal's and Hank's limits to gain a surprising amount of power over the Tampa-based operations. Lopez is known as such a bully and a boor that he makes Hank Steinbrenner look
like a gentleman and a scholar, in comparison.
4. Randy Levine. The head of everything in New York, including the Yankees' role in YES and the new Yankee Stadium, team president Levine used to be predictable in that he would carry out George Steinbrenner's wishes. Now, with The Boss largely resting in the background, Levine sits as more of a wild card.

From this, you have people wondering who really runs things. It's a question that, in reality, probably will fade only if, or when,

the Steinbrenner family sells the team.

So in the interim, the Yankees will put forward their best words." from Ken Davidoff Newsday column, 10/2/08, "Cashman aims to win with dysfunctional Yankees"-------------

Second Davidoff article:

5/16/11, "Decision-Makers off-target again," Ken Davidoff, Newsday (Newsday is subscription)

"There's already enough tension and lunacy around the organization.

Ailing reliever Rafael Soriano said after the game that George Steinbrenner's son-in-law, Felix Lopez -- whose background is in gardening, not medicine -- advised him to take

a couple of weeks off to rest his ailing elbow....

Tough, tough times for the Yankees. "This is where you're tested as a team," Girardi said.

In that case, the people who run this operation need to study harder....

Successful industries, be they baseball, banking or bagels, place their personnel in a position to succeed. And calibrate their expectations accordingly.

Both on and off the field Monday, the Yankees failed at that skill. They can blame only themselves for the intensifying storm surrounding them....

At 20-19, three games behind the Rays in the American League East, the Yankees feel like a team in crisis. Of course, most teams carry that aura when the results stink....

And what in the name of Thurman Munson was Yankees brass thinking when it interrupted Derek Jeter's day to discuss the comments he made Sunday about Jorge Posada's Saturday boycott?...

Speaking of not being surprised, you could have set your watch to Jeter's comments on Sunday.

He defended his longtime friend and teammate while standing clear of Posada's feud with the Yankees' front office.

Of course Posada received preferential treatment from the team captain. Of course Jeter wouldn't have been so effusive had this been Alex Rodriguez or Nick Swisher pulling themselves out of a game against the Red Sox an hour before first pitch.

This is who Jeter is. He isn't much of a captain. The Yankees knew this when they agreed to bring back the iconic shortstop last winter for an over-market deal. So as long as Jeter isn't planning a rally on Posada's behalf,

it probably would've been better to ignore Jeter's comments."...

---------------------------------

About baseball and radio. I copied the article when it came out. (The link is inactive):

2/27/09, "'A Great Day to Surf the (radio) Waves'," Cincinnati.com, Daugherty

It's an intimate act, calling a baseball game, involving trust, respect and appreciation.

We take our baseball broadcasters personally here, as personally as we take the Reds."...

============

Columnist Dan DiMauro is a fan of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman

10/10/11, "Sterling's a rare gem, don'cha know?" The Day, Mike DiMauro

"Let me just say this: I don't care whether you like him. I like him. And Suzyn Waldman, too. So do millions of Yankee fans, otherwise known as the target audience. Sterling and Waldman are part of every day from April through October, eccentric, eclectic, entertaining and everywhere the season takes us....

The (NY) Times reported that Mushnick "has written more than 270 articles about Sterling," calling him a "narcissistic, condescending blowhard."

Then the best quote of all:

"Yankees fans who like him are people who just want someone to root for the team," Mushnick said.

What, the Yankees should go out and hire someone who hates them?

Or is more boring than geometry?

And it's not like Sterling and Waldman never criticize the Yankees. They do it often. (Just wait till they fail to advance a runner)....

It's OK to enhance the product with some personality, you know.

John Sterling makes you listen because of what's coming. And what's not.

Like one night this summer. We're on vacation in Ocean City, N.J., sipping some euphoric nectar on the porch listening to the ballgame. Sterling is apoplectic that home plate umpire Jerry Layne is taking too long to call balls and strikes. Suddenly, he breaks into song:

"Everybody's hand in hand ... waitin' for Jerry Layne."

It's a takeoff on an old Sinatra lyric ("everybody's hand in hand, swingin' down the lane.")

I'm sorry. But that's perfect, brilliant and the essence of John Sterling.

And I want him back for as long as he wants to do it.

I believe I speak for Yankees Universe on this.

And in this case, we should be the only ones who count.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro."

--------------------
More on radio and baseball generally:

8/26/2009, "Radio is what sold me on baseball," Hossrex, Dugout Central (I copied this material from Dugout Central in 2009. (The original link is inactive now, so I use the link on my blog).

Hossrex: "There’s something classic about baseball,

there’s something classic about radio, and there’s

nothing more classic than baseball on the radio."...

-----------------

Misc. citation

1/7/10, "Roger Clemens will obviously wear a Red Sox cap if he goes in the Hall of Fame," Rob Neyer, ESPN

....................

............

Mariano explains to Arod how to throw a cutter-June 2024, Yankee Stadium

2024-06-18T22:31:00.001-04:00

6/10/24, “Pitching lessons from the great @MarianoRivera!! #yankees #mlb,” AROD twitter, via Pinstripe Alley

Above, Yankee Stadium, 6/10/2024, AROD twitter

From Pinstripe Alley, 6/16/24:

“Mo teaches A-Rod the cutter”

Both Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez were at Yankee Stadium last weekend [Fri. 6/7/24-Sun., 6/9/24] for the team’s much anticipated matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers. While there, A-Rod met up with his former teammate and got him to record a video on how to throw the cutter. Rather interestingly, Rivera says that most pitchers who we say through cutters are actually throwing sliders, because they’re not releasing it like a fastball.

He also showed how he threw a sinker, taught to him by Mel Stottlemyer.”

.........................

Los Angeles Angels scoreboard thanks John Sterling for the memories, 5/28/24

2024-05-29T21:38:00.003-04:00

May 28, 2024, “On the scoreboard between innings here in Anaheim. Nice touch.” Erik Boland twitter

Above, 5/28/24, from Erik Boland twitter

Final score 5/28/24, Angels 4, Yankees 3

…………………………………….

Added: Speaking of memories: One for them, one for us:

10/19/2009, ALCS game 3 vs Yankees in Anaheim, Angels win 5-4 in 11:

ALCS game 3, game tied 4-4. Mo entered the game with the winning run on 2nd. He made a throwing error to third on a bunt. Eventually bases were loaded with no out. Rivera got out of it with no runs scoring. Ground balls never left the infield. A sac fly would have won the game. The Angels did win in the 11th after Mo was gone. getty photo. Final: Angels 5, Yankees 4.

………………………………………………

10/25/2009, ALCS game 6, Angels at Yankees, Angels dugout, 9th inning, getty. Final score, Yankees 5, Angels 2. Two innings by Mo.

...............

Empire State Building to be lit 8-9pm tonight in honor of John Sterling retiring as longtime voice of NY Yankees

2024-04-20T19:46:00.005-04:00

4/20/24, “Tonight, from 8-9PM we will be lit in @yankees Pinstripes in honor of John Sterling’s Retirement,” Empire State Building twitter

Above, 4/20/24, Empire State Building twitter

………………………………………

Added:

4/20/24, “John Sterling honored by Yankees for 36 seasons and 5,631 games as radio voice,” AP

………………………….

John Sterling Calls

………………………

New York Daily News back page: Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres, Fri. 3/29/24, Yankees beat Astros 5-4 in season opener

2024-03-29T02:09:00.002-04:00

Above, Friday, March 29, 2024, NY Daily News back page: “Juan Soto, known more for his hitting than fielding, celebrates with Gleyber Torres after Bombers beat Astros 5-4 in season opener, thanks to Soto’s clutch 9th inning throw that nails Mauricio Dubon at plate.”…via Back Page Guy NYDN

…Final, 5-4 Yankees over Astros in Houston

....................

Andy Pettitte in Tampa is among guest instructors at Yankee Spring Training

2024-02-24T00:10:00.005-05:00

2/20/24, “Plenty of former @Yankees in camp. Willie Randolph, CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte [age 51], Bernie Williams, and Nick Swisher.” Otis Livingston, @CBSNewYork

Above, 2/20/24, Andy Pettitte in Tampa with looks like Hal Steinbrenner

……………………………….

2/20/24, “Former Yankees lefties [Sabathia and Pettitte] watching bullpens this morning,“ Erik Boland twitter

…………………………………

Added:

2/25/2019, “Pettitte gained an official title with the organization on Monday [2/25/2019], as he was named a special advisor to general manager Brian Cashman.“...mlb.com

………………………………..

Added: Andy is cheered by postseason crowd in chilly New York, October 25, 2009. ALCS game 6, Final 5-2, Yankees over LA Angels...(Baseball Reference, scroll down)

Andy Pettitte waves to crowd, ALCS game 6, 10/25/09, ap

……………………………….

Added: As foretold: 13 years earlier, Oct. 24, 1996 World Series game 5, winning pitcher Andy Pettitte in 1-0 shutout, Yankees v Braves in Atlanta, Yankees 1, Braves 0: Andy: 8.1 IP, 96 pitches. Losing pitcher, John Smoltz:

Above, Oct. 24, 1996, World Series game 5, score 1-0 Yankees, bottom of the 9th, one out, Joe Torre relieves starting pitcher Andy Pettitte, you tube.

……………………………

Two days later, 10/26/1996, World Series game 6, Yankees defeat Braves 3-2 and win 1996 World Series. MLB video:

....................................

****Zack Britton on “Foul Territory” podcast, 2/6/24, You Tube===========double chek

2024-02-06T22:00:00.004-05:00

“If you like a guy, you can make that guy look really good in some areas. If you don’t like a guy, you can make him look really bad in some areas.“…Britton, @57:28

2/6/24, “Ex-Yankees pitcher doubles down on analytics criticism: ‘Disconnect’ exists,” nj.com, Bridget Hyland, nj advance media for nj.com

“After retiring in November, Zack Britton shared that he felt that while he was with the Yankees, there was a “disconnect” between the analytics and the players.

Speaking on “Foul Territory” on Tuesday [Feb. 6], the 2016 Mariano Rivera Reliever of the Year award winner doubled down on his assertion. [@55:57, Discussion of Yankee analytics begins. @57:15, “Disconnect” reference]

“So the Yankees had a lot [of analytics],” Britton said. “And I would I would say, yeah, the communication is just not a strength in the in the game today. I feel like there’s there [are] a lot of people in every single clubhouse kind of pulling in different directions, unfortunately. At the end of the day, it’s about getting results on the field. So you want your front office, you want your analytical department, your players or coaches to all be given the same message to players. And I don’t know every organization, but I know with New York and referencing what [Aaron] Judge said, there was just that disconnect there of good communication, on kind of filtering out the noise of analytics.

The truth is, it’s numbers and

you can manipulate them any way that you want.

If you like a guy, you can make that guy look really good in some areas.

If you don’t like a guy, you can make him look really bad in some areas.

So I think the issue is just more about communication, when it comes to it and I still think we’re struggling with that in the game.”

Britton was referencing comments Yankees slugger Aaron Judge made after the season.

“We get a lot of numbers, but I think we might be looking at the wrong ones and maybe should value some other ones that some people might see as having no value,” Judge told reporters in October. “But when you’re playing 162 games, you’ve got to grind, and you’ve got to play through things. I think there are certain things you can’t put a number on.”

Britton made similar comments in November while speaking on “The Show” with The New York Post’s Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman.

“I just know as a player there, a lot of times in the clubhouse I felt like there was this disconnect between some of the things that we were presented with and what we were seeing on the field as players. And sometimes that creates, you know, that rift which is not what you want. From a clubhouse culture standpoint, you want everything to mesh well together, whether it be the communication from the front office, to the play on the field, and I felt that sometimes the two just weren’t connecting well.

“What the players were saying, we were like, ‘Hey, we should be doing this, and this has been working well.’ Then sometimes the way that that was implemented through the data didn’t line up, and I don’t think I’m the only player that feels that way.”

The Orioles traded Britton to the Yankees in 2018. He missed most of final season with the Yankees in 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and then announced his retirement from baseball in November 2023.”

................

View from Yankee radio booth in Anaheim as seen by Erik Boland

2023-07-21T17:10:00.000-04:00

7/19/23, “Erik Boland @eboland11...Big thanks, as always, to John [Sterling] and Suzyn [Waldman], who for last eight years or so have allowed me to sit with them in their booth here in Anaheim. It’s as great as you would imagine.”…Erik Boland, Yankee beat writer from Newsday

Above, 7/19/23, Erik Boland twitter

Yankees swept by Angels in 3 games...July 17, Angels 4-3 over Yankees in 10

….July 18, Angels 5-1 over Yankees,

July 19, Angels 7-3 over Yankees,

………………………………………………

Added: Longtime Yankee radio voices Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling had their own Bobble Head night at Yankee Stadium on Friday, August 19, 2022, via Eric Boland twitter, 3/25/22…WFAN says they’re “talking” bobble heads.

John and Suzyn broadcast every Yankee game on radio, WFAN AM&FM in NY metro. August 19 will be Blue Jays at Yankees

………………………………………..

Added: John Sterling home calls on twitter

...................

Colorado Rockies have pre-game tribute for DJ LeMahieu, 7/14/23, Yankees at Rockies

2023-07-16T01:00:00.003-04:00

July 14, 2023, “Shannon @LoveTheRox, “Pre-game tribute to DJ LeMahieu,”” DJ LeMahieu, Baseball Reference

Above, 7/14/23…..Final score 7/14/23, Rockies 7, Yankees 2, DJ has 2 hits….Final score 7/15/23, Yankees 6, Rockies 3, DJ has 3 hits

………………………………………..

Comment: As a Yankee fan since 1996, by 2019 I’d accepted that we’d never have any base-hits type hitters. Suddenly, I noticed that some new guy was getting base hits and I said who is this guy? Is this a mistake? How did we get this guy? Of course the hitter and new Yankee was DJ LeMahieu.

...........

John Sterling is expected to return to Yankee radio booth on June 6, 2023-Marchand

2023-05-25T22:59:00.003-04:00

5/24/23, “John Sterling missing more Yankees games due to illness,“ NY Post, Andrew Marchand

“John Sterling will miss this weekend’s home series against the Padres and will skip the Yankees’ West Coast trip next week because he is under the weather.

Sterling, 84, is expected to return to the Yankee [radio] broadcast booth on June 6. [White Sox at Yankees]

While his illness is keeping him out, it was not described as serious.

Charles Wenzelberg/NY Post

“Don’t worry about me, you can tell your readers,” Sterling told The Post. “I’ll be back soon.”

After not going to Seattle or Los Angeles next week, Sterling will have missed 23 of the Yankees first 61 games.

[MLB Scoreboard]

Justin Shackil will replace Sterling as Suzyn Waldman’s partner [in the Yankee radio booth] on all the games.

WFAN hired Shackil this year so he could spell Sterling when needed.”

……………………………….

Comment: John, of course take all the time you need to restore your health. In the meantime, I can’t listen to Yankee radio at all without you in the booth. Jeff Nelson is the only one who’d be an acceptable substitute for you, but instead we’re given an unlistenable chirpy nightmare, Shackil. From what I’ve read, he thinks calling enough minor league games is the main prerequisite for calling major league games. Not so. The first requirement is to be a natural talker. You can call 10,000 minor league games, and if you’re not a natural talker, you won’t be any better in the big leagues. All the “play by play” guys today are exactly the same as Shackil: chirpy, robotic clones. None of them belong on radio. If anything, they’re only suited for nationally televised games during which you can mute the audio. Radio of course is a conversation with one other person. Shackil doesn’t know that, he thinks he’s talking on a PA system to a crowd at a noisy carnival. You’re the only one left on radio who talks in a normal conversational tone in the booth. None of these cookie cutter guys today are natural talkers as you are and are thus incapable of doing give and take conversation. As a listener, you know they’re terrified of making a mistake, so they mainly stay frozen within themselves. Of course John Sterling also has the perfect voice for radio. Shackil mentioned he was most impressed by the advice you gave him to “be himself.” That would be fine if Shackil actually had a “self.” He’s just a robot.

...............

There is a woman who broadcasts for the Yankees named Suzyn Waldman. She knows more about baseball than anyone I’ve ever heard-4/27/23, Commenter at Free Republic

2023-04-27T22:01:00.001-04:00

4/27/23, As it happens, Suzyn “was the first woman to become a fulltime MLB broadcaster.” She became a baseball fan when as a little girl in Massachusetts, her grandfather took her to Red Sox games.

From Free Republic:

“To: swingdoc; Blurb2350

There is a woman who broadcasts for the Yankees named Suzyn Waldman. I’m not sure how entertaining she is, but

she knows more about baseball than anyone I’ve ever heard.

22 posted on 4/27/2023, 12:57:15 AM by nickcarraway”

………………………………

……

Article posted on Free Republic 4/27/2023, 12:11:08 AM by nickcarraway

…..4/26/23, “ESPN Fires MLB Reporter Marly Rivera for Calling Fellow Reporter ‘X X’,” New York Post ^ | | Andrew Marchand

………………………………………………………..

Added: On Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, Suzyn Waldman and her radio partner John Sterling were honored with their own Talking Bobblehead Day at Yankee Stadium

Fri., 8/19/22, Yankee Stadium Radio Booth, “JOHN STERLING & SUZYN WALDMAN TALKING #BOBBLEHEADUNBOXING,” Keith MacPherson, WFAN twitter

Yankees unfortunately lost the game to the Blue Jays, 4-0. John Sterling has been radio play-by-play voice of the NY Yankees since 1989. Color analyst Suzyn Waldman has been with Sterling in the radio booth since 2005, and has covered and broadcast the Yankees since 1986.

July 25, 2022, “New York Yankees longtime broadcaster Suzyn Waldman picked for Radio Hall of Fame,” espn.com

“NEW YORK — Yankees radio broadcaster Suzyn Waldman, MLB Network and Sirius XM Radio host Chris Russo and rock DJ Carol Miller were selected Monday for induction into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Radio hosts Broadway Bill Lee and Lon Helton, radio personality Ellen K and radio executives Jeff Smulyan and Marv Dyson also will be inducted in a ceremony in Chicago on Nov. 1.

The eight were chosen in secret voting by more than 600 industry professionals and the Hall’s nominating committee.

Waldman, 75, is in her 36th season [as of 2022] covering or broadcasting the Yankees, her 18th as a radio color commentator. She was the first woman to become a fulltime MLB broadcaster.

“Suzyn has informed and entertained Yankees fans with precision and care for 36 years, [as of 2022]” the Yankees said in a statement. “This accomplishment is the deserved result of decades of hard work and dedication to her craft, and we would be remiss to not laud her professionalism and resolve while staring down countless obstacles as a pioneering woman in her field.”

Russo, 62, nicknamed “Mad Dog,” was hired by New York’s WFAN in 1988 and gained notoriety as cohost of “Mike and the Mad Dog” with Mike Francesa from 1989 to 2008. Russo has been with Sirius XM since 2008 and the MLB Network since 2014.

Miller worked at WNEW-FM in 1973, then briefly for WQIV-FM before gaining wide attention at WPLJ-FM from 1975 to 1983. She returned to WNEW-FM in 1984 for 17 years, then worked at WXRK (K-ROCK) and began at Sirius XM, where she still works. She also has been at WAXQ-FM since 2004 and has a nationally syndicated show “Carol Miller’s Get the Led Out” for United Stations Radio Networks.

Ellen K, 59, was born Ellen J. Thoe and broadcast at KIIS-FM from 1990 to 2015 before switching to KOST. She has a nationally syndicated “Ellen K Weekend Show” on iHeartMedia stations.

Smulyan, 75, is founder and CEO of Emmis Communications. He was controlling owner of Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners from 1989 to 1992.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

………………………………….

John Sterling call of Anthony Volpe's first major league home run, 4/14/23: “Anthony Volpe! A spettacolo oggi! Ohhh the fox socks one to left!” Translation: "A show today!"

2023-04-14T20:39:00.003-04:00

4/14/2023, “Anthony Volpe! A spettacolo oggi! Ohhh the fox socks one to left!” John Sterling call of Anthony Volpe’s first home run in major leagues. Click on link to hear audio of Sterling’s live call. Twins at Yankees, first inning Friday, 4/14/23. Italian to English translation: “A show today!”

Above, 4/14/23, from John Sterling Calls twitter

....................

................

.............

MLB signed long term deal with FTX to be its “Official Cryptocurrency Brand,” included FTX emblem on all umpires’ uniforms. FTX also made deal with MLB Players, Inc.-June-July 2021

2022-11-18T22:09:00.003-05:00

7/13/2021, “Umpires are wearing FTX patches on their shirts tonight. This is an advertisement and will remain on there for the rest of the season,” sportslogosnet twitter…11/18/2022, FTX files bankruptcy.

“Financial terms of the MLB sponsorship weren’t disclosed, though an FTX spokesman told CoinDesk it’s a five-year deal.”.."FTX.US will become MLB’s first-ever umpire uniform patch partner.”

6/23/2021, “FTX REACHES AGREEMENT WITH MLB PLAYERS INC. FOR GROUP PLAYER RIGHTS,” prnewswire via FTX.US

“Leading Cryptocurrency Exchange Partners with America’s National Pastime to Expand Brand Awareness Worldwide”

“BERKELEY, Calif., June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — FTX Trading Limited and West Realm Shires Services Inc., owners and operators of FTX.COM and FTX.US (collectively, “FTX”), and Major League Baseball (MLB), today announced a new long-term, global partnership. FTX.US has partnered with MLB in relation to the US, and FTX.COM internationally. FTX.COM and FTX.US have, together, established FTX as the Official Cryptocurrency Exchange brand of MLB. This deal,

the first-ever partnership between a professional sports league and a cryptocurrency exchange, was established to create increased brand awareness for FTX

and continued innovation for MLB.

In addition, FTX.US has formed an agreement with MLB Players Inc., a subsidiary of the MLB Players Association that manages all of the commercial activities for the organization. FTX will have group player rights

which allows the organization to use

highlights of players in content creation.

FTX.US will become MLB’s first-ever umpire uniform patch partner. Beginning with the MLB All-Star Game, presented by Mastercard, on July 13^th, an FTX.US logo patch will adorn

all umpire uniforms for regular season, Postseason, Spring Training and Jewel Event games.

This new agreement also provides FTX with worldwide marketing rights associated with MLB marks, logos and special events. Fans will see applicable FTX brand promotion around nationally televised MLB games, MLB.com, MLB Network, MLB.TV, social media platforms and more high impact baseball media. FTX and MLB will announce additional partnership activation details at a later date.

FTX CEO and Founder Sam Bankman-Fried commented on the news,

“It’s an honor for FTX to be the first cryptocurrency exchange

to be associated with the history and tradition of America’s national pastime.

FTX.COM and FTX.US are excited to enter this first-of-its-kind partnership with Major League Baseball. At FTX, we strive each day to make a positive global impact, and there is no better

partner for us to achieve this goal with than with MLB and its international fan base.

We look forward to announcing further details of our long-term partnership throughout the remainder of this year.”

MLB Chief Revenue Officer, Noah Garden stated, “This is an incredibly exciting announcement for everyone in Major League Baseball

as we partner with a global leader in the early stages of their unbelievable growth.

FTX quickly cultivated itself into a worldwide leader in the ever-evolving cryptocurrency industry and continues to build on

its already impressive reputation.

Our fans have been early adopters in using new technologies to engage with our game.

We cannot wait to start collaborating with Sam and the entire FTX team.”

...............

About FTX.US

FTX.US is a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, built from the ground up. Our mission is for FTX.US to grow the digital currency ecosystem, offer US traders a platform that inspires their loyalty and become the market leading US cryptocurrency exchange by volume over the next two years.

To learn more about FTX.US, please visit: https://ftx.us/

About FTX.COM

FTX.COM is a cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders. It offers innovative products, including industry-leading derivatives, options and volatility products, tokenized stocks, prediction markets, leveraged tokens and an OTC desk. FTX.COM strives to be an intuitive yet powerful platform for all kinds of users, and to be the most innovative exchange in the industry. FTX.COM has grown quickly since its founding, becoming one of the most respected cryptocurrency exchanges in the world in less than 2 years.

To learn more about FTX.COM, please visit: https://ftx.com/

FTX.COM is not available to US residents or residents of other prohibited jurisdictions, as set out in its Terms of Service.

About MLB Players, Inc.

MLB Players, Inc. is the business arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Major League Baseball Players Association (www.MLBPLAYERS.com) is the collective bargaining representative for all professional baseball players of the thirty Major League Baseball teams and serves as the exclusive group licensing agent for commercial and licensing activities involving active Major League Baseball Players. On behalf of its members, it operates the Players Choice licensing program and the Players Choice Awards, which benefit the needy through the Major League Baseball Players Trust (www.PlayersTrust.org), a charitable foundation established and run entirely by Major League Baseball players. Follow: @MLB_Players; @Peloteros_MLB; @MLBPlayersTrust; @MLBPlayersInc and @MLBPlayersMedia.

Matt Bourne or David Hochman, MLB Communications, (212) 931-7878, mlbpressbox.com, @MLB_PR

Jay Morakis, M Group Strategic Communications, (646) 859-5951, ftx@mgroupsc.com

Silvia Alvarez, Major League Baseball Players Association, (646) 285-1819, mlbplayers.com, @MLB_PLAYERS

SOURCE FTX.US

https://ftx.com

*******************************

Added: “Financial terms of the MLB sponsorship weren’t disclosed, though an FTX spokesman told CoinDesk it’s a five-year deal.”

6/23/2021, “FTX Strikes Sponsorship Deal With MLB, Umpires to Wear Crypto Exchange’s Logo,” Zack Seward, Coin Desk via Yahoo Finance

“Fresh on the heels of the unveiling of the [Miami Heat] FTX Arena in Miami, the crypto exchange is becoming the “Official Cryptocurrency Exchange brand of MLB,” FTX and Major League Baseball said in an announcement Wednesday.

The data-minded traders at FTX crunched the numbers and found sports naming rights to yield the best return on investment for their marketing spending, a source with knowledge of the matter told CoinDesk. Earlier this month, FTX reached a $210 million naming-rights deal with esports team TSM.

Under the baseball deal, FTX branding will appear on all umpire uniforms starting at the All-Star Game in Denver on July 13 and continue into the postseason.

MLB is calling FTX its “first-ever umpire uniform patch partner.”

An MLB spokesman said images of the patch are not yet available.

“FTX.COM and FTX.US are excited to enter this first-of-its-kind partnership with Major League Baseball,”

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said in the statement.

“We look forward to announcing further details of our long-term partnership throughout the remainder of this year.”

In a tweet, Bankman-Fried said FTX and MLB have plans on

“collaborating on products and experiences together.” The deal

includes a provision with the MLB Players Association to “use highlights of players in content creation,” according to Wednesday’s press release.

Naming rights for the Miami Heat arena went for $135 million in a 19-year deal.

Financial terms of the MLB sponsorship weren’t disclosed,

though an FTX spokesman told CoinDesk

it’s a five-year deal.

Calls to the MLB Players Association were not returned by press time.”

.......................................

.................

XM MLB Chat

California Strikes Out: Major League Pitcher Merrill Kelly turns down Padres $40 million offer citing draconian California state taxes-Jonathan Turley

California Strikes Out: Major League Pitcher Merrill Kelly turns down Padres $40 million offer citing punishing California state taxes-Jonathan Turley

John Sterling Show, WABC radio, Saturdays 4-5pm. Dec. 6, 2025 guests: John Flaherty and Rickie Ricardo

“Holy Schlitt!” NY Post back page, Fri., Oct. 3, 2025. Final: Yankees 4, Red Sox 0, winning pitcher Cam Schlittler

Pres. George Bush is about to throw first pitch at Yankee Stadium and Derek Jeter tells him, “Don’t bounce it, they’ll boo you.” World Series Game 3, 10/30/2001

Zack Britton sees disconnent bewteen players andn analytics-NJ.com

Chicago White Sox billboard congratulates home grown Pope Leo XIV, May 9, 2025

New York Yankees 2025 Spring Training schedule of televised games

Star over Bethlehem

Juan Soto joins the Mets….”The Yankees no longer get the player because they’re the Yankees.”…Mike Francesa, 12/8/24

John Sterling’s a rare gem, don’cha know?–Mike DiMauro, The Day (Eastern Connecticut),10/10/2011

........................

John Sterling is back on Yankee radio tonight with Suzyn Waldman. Thank-you so much, John.

Craig Carton tapped to do play by play for 3 games in Yankee radio booth, August 10-11, 2024. Decision on full time Sterling replacement to be made in off season

............

Mariano explains to Arod how to throw a cutter-June 2024, Yankee Stadium

Los Angeles Angels scoreboard thanks John Sterling for the memories, 5/28/24

Empire State Building to be lit 8-9pm tonight in honor of John Sterling retiring as longtime voice of NY Yankees

New York Daily News back page: Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres, Fri. 3/29/24, Yankees beat Astros 5-4 in season opener

Andy Pettitte in Tampa is among guest instructors at Yankee Spring Training

****Zack Britton on “Foul Territory” podcast, 2/6/24, You Tube===========double chek

View from Yankee radio booth in Anaheim as seen by Erik Boland

Colorado Rockies have pre-game tribute for DJ LeMahieu, 7/14/23, Yankees at Rockies

John Sterling is expected to return to Yankee radio booth on June 6, 2023-Marchand

There is a woman who broadcasts for the Yankees named Suzyn Waldman. She knows more about baseball than anyone I’ve ever heard-4/27/23, Commenter at Free Republic

John Sterling call of Anthony Volpe's first major league home run, 4/14/23: “Anthony Volpe! A spettacolo oggi! Ohhh the fox socks one to left!” Translation: "A show today!"

MLB signed long term deal with FTX to be its “Official Cryptocurrency Brand,” included FTX emblem on all umpires’ uniforms. FTX also made deal with MLB Players, Inc.-June-July 2021

Related