In the world of sports broadcasting, few voices were as iconic as John Sterling's. When the legendary Yankees announcer hung up his microphone at age 85 after an incredible 64-year career, it marked the end of an era. But according to his longtime broadcast partner, Michael Kay, Sterling's retirement might have come too soon.
Kay recently appeared on the New York Post's "The Show" podcast with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman to honor Sterling, who passed away Monday morning. During the heartfelt tribute, Kay revealed that he had actually tried to convince Sterling to keep working, despite the broadcaster's remarkable 5,060 consecutive Yankees games streak from 1989 to 2019.
"I think one of the things that led to him retiring, he just got frustrated that there weren't newspapers, physical newspapers available on the road anymore," Kay explained. It's a surprisingly simple reason for such a monumental decision, but it speaks to Sterling's old-school approach to the game.
Kay recalled suggesting that Sterling's children buy him an iPad one Christmas, hoping it would give him access to the newspapers he loved. While the family did gift him the device, Sterling refused to use it. His relationship with technology was practically nonexistent—his flip phone was as modern as he got, and even then, he kept all his contacts written on a sheet of paper in his pocket.
"If he had somehow learned and gotten comfortable using an iPad, I think he could have still been broadcasting," Kay said. "I did try to talk him out of retiring because I think of Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno, when older people retire from something that is so much a part of their life, health becomes an issue."
Kay's concern was genuine. He noted how the Yankees were willing to accommodate Sterling in every way possible, from providing car service to picking him up at home and driving him back. "The Yankees are bending over backward for you, they'll do anything for you, they'll give you any schedule," Kay told Sterling at the time.
But even with all that support, Sterling faced physical challenges in his final years. While he maintained that calling a baseball game remained easy, he confided in Kay about a more practical struggle: "The walk from the car to the booth was becoming too much." It's a reminder that even legends face the realities of aging, no matter how much the organization tries to ease the burden.