It is high, it is far

John Sterling died Monday at 87. The baseball world lost a legend who was the voice of the Yankees from 1989 until his retirement in 2024. He broadcast 5,060 consecutive games from 1989 to 2019, and over 5,600 total. That's also a lot of time to fill. And Sterling filled it the way most broadcasters wouldn't: by being weird and by being joyful.

Dead air came alive: Baseball radio means long broadcasts, sparse action between pitches, and hours to kill. Sterling built his career before second screens; a Yankee game could be just you and him. And any dead air was instantly filled with his personality. And when something happened at last, he had a call for it. He'd exclaim “Bern baby Bern!” for a Bernie Williams home run, or "Just Wild About Harry" (a reference to an obscure 1920s musical) for a Harrison Bader blast. He'd describe Yankee baserunning errors as “running the bases like drunks.” A Mark Teixiera home run was punctuated with “He sent a Tex message!” His signature closer — "The Yankees win. Theeeeeeeee Yankees win" — was delivered with a theatrical flair that should've sounded corny but instead sounded genuine. Because Sterling meant it. He loved the moment.

What we lost: The Yankees honored him this week with a moment of silence before their game, a recognition that a voice they've heard for their entire lives is gone. Fans who grew up listening to Sterling don't just remember games. They remember the way he described them. Compared to another longtime broadcaster, Dodgers legend Vin Scully, Sterling occupies a different space. Where Scully was elegance and restraint, Sterling was excess and connection. His calls made baseball Twitter lose its mind, but he never stopped being himself.