Yankees broadcaster finishes game despite foul ball to head

A New York Yankees hat. Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports

Yankees broadcaster John Sterling finishes game despite foul ball to head

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 6/11/23

Longtime New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling displayed some serious guts finishing out a broadcast on Saturday despite taking a foul ball to the head.

The 84-year-old was hit with a foul ball while calling the 9th inning of Saturday’s Yankees-Red Sox game, which could be heard on the air. Despite that, he finished the game.

John Sterling got hit by a Justin Turner foul ball then got right back on the mic like an absolute warrior pic.twitter.com/JHsVTKEVPA

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 11, 2023

Sterling could be heard exclaiming “Ow!” on the broadcast before acknowledging the hit. “It really hit me. I didn’t know it was coming back that far,” he admitted.

Sterling had little choice to finish the inning, as partner Suzyn Waldman had left the booth to go down to the field for postgame interviews. Fortunately, Boston’s Justin Turner grounded out to end the game a couple pitches later.

The broadcaster said he had some minor bleeding, but would not miss Sunday’s game.

“I’m not going on the IL,” he told Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.

Sterling has been the radio voice of the Yankees since 1989. He has been criticized in recent years for botching some of his calls, but there’s no disputing that he was a real trooper here.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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