Cut him a break

 

John Sterling is 83 years old and has always been a lightning rod.

From his time in the late 60s and early 70s as a pioneering sports talk host to his play-by-play work for the Nets, Islanders, Hawks, Braves, and...where else?...oh yeah, Yankees, he has been a huge part of the sports scene for a long time.

Is he beloved? Yes. Is he criticized? To excess.

I've learned to accept John for what he is and I don't think he is as bad as he's often made out to be.

Last night, he committed a very honest mistake.

Aaron Judge hit a majestic home run in the second inning for the Yankees against the Mariners in Seattle. As Judge came up to hit again, Sterling looked at his monitor as he called the game.

That's a key fact here: Sterling -- and Suzyn Waldman -- are calling the games remotely off monitors.

John described the action as he watched Yusei Kikuchi deliver to Judge.

"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!"

No more than a second passed.

"Unfortunately that was a replay of the home run. But it was a good replay.

"I...I...I'm sorry. It's on the monitors."

Waldman: "This is a great way..."

Sterling: "What am I supposed to do?"

Waldman: "This is a great way to do a game, isn't it?"

They're correct. Look, I can see getting on John if he was in the ballpark, but he's not. Even then, I truly would enjoy watching "critics" try doing what John, Suzyn, me, Mike Hirn, or anyone else does. I used to really minimize this, thinking it wasn't much of a skill.

It's still not surgery but it's a skill.

John doesn't deserve the grief that Twitter is delivering today at all. I get that he's an easy target for a variety of reasons but this one isn't fair.

Broadcasters need to be back on the road with their teams and, blatantly, Waldman is essentially calling out her employers with her comment. She has been bluntly at the forefront of the movement to travel again.

The criticism of penny-pinching is deserved. Most team broadcasters are trusting sources to begin with. They become a part of the traveling party and, especially with RSN's (Regional Sports Networks) criticism is deftly handled. Like it or not, the RSN controls the message to an extent since it's their product.

I know and understand that as an employee of a team. It's a very fine line.

And, make no mistake, my employers have been outstanding. On the topic of traveling, they know I'm up for road games, even if it's a handful that I drive myself to. As it is, I'll be driving through Aberdeen, MD soon and guess who the Ironbirds will be playing? The Renegades!

Oh, have I mentioned Aberdeen doesn't have a broadcaster? Wouldn't they like the so-called "Voice of the Renegades" for a game or six, just as they had Cyclones' voice, Keith Raad, last week?

Anyway, I'm getting off-topic. Slowly, I think some are beginning to believe that voices need to get back on the road. We can't do our jobs effectively without the ability without access to players and coaches (and Zoom calls aren't enough). There's a general "feel" that we get from being nearby.

I'll go a step farther -- few interviews ever give me that much. It's chatting with people on the sidelines and just watching and -- more -- listening. Being a fly on the wall during batting practice or warmups lets me listen and learn. There are obvious things to keep off the record but there are things of note that can be useful at the strangest moments.

That's what you get from traveling and being "present" with a team.

We're missing that in the current construct.

In the long run -- I don't care what anyone says -- the cost savings isn't that big. In fact, I'll offer that you're costing yourself more by having sub-par broadcasts. That being said, I've mentioned quality doesn't matter and it hasn't for years. I have too many examples to offer (even in the last 24 hours) but I've curbed my wicked ways.

Getting on John Sterling is the lowest of hanging fruit. It's too easy. He's the bombastic Yankees radio broadcaster whose trademark calls and heard and, often, mocked. Yankees haters detest him. Some Yankees fans don't like him either. And let's face it, the Yankees are a joy for many to hate.

But this one wasn't fair. While it was a mistake, sure, it was honest. Some in the industry are coming to his defense today and you can count me as one.

I'm happy to offer criticism but I'm not going to do that here.