John Sterling doesn’t like missing New York Yankee games: from 1989 to 2019, he voiced 5,058 consecutive Yankee games. Sterling took his first days off in 30 years from 4th July 2019 to 7th July 2019. The legendary sportscaster doesn’t announce games as much as he used to, fueling concerns about his well-being.
John Sterling is healthy; he has reduced his workload because he no longer enjoys traveling to games
In 2022, Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reported that John Sterling would miss most road games in the second half of the season.
Sterling told WFAN’s Carton & Roberts that he was healthy and WFAN wasn’t forcing him out. He explained that he’d grown tired of traveling with the team. Sterling said:
“I’ve been listening to my buddies in broadcasting, especially across the way, Howie Rose and Gary Cohen … many others have been telling me for years to take some time off. I really hate going on the road and I’ve been doing it with teams nonstop for 52 years.”
“There’s no big thing going on.” Sterling stated. “I’m 100% healthy. It certainly was my choosing. I’m just very fortunate.”
Sterling told The New York Post he’d reduced his workload to recharge his batteries. “I love this game, but I hate being on the road,” he stated.
Sterling, who’ll turn 85 in July 2023, is expected to retire soon. His passion for baseball burns bright, but the mistakes he makes on air have increased. Some fans opine that it’s time for the legend to step away from the mic.
“I plan to continue working and I have right now, no desire to stop,” Sterling told The New York Post in October 2022. “I’m going to work.”
Sterling spent four days in the hospital in mid-2020 due to a blood infection
In mid-2020, Sterling spent four days at Englewood Hospital in New Jersey recovering from a blood infection. “Everything is cool,” Sterling told The New York Post as he left the hospital in early August 2020.
Sterling stated he was lucky the infection didn’t reach his heart, and he tested negative for the coronavirus.