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Report: Sterling and Waldman agree to new contracts for ’18

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(Wall Street Journal)
(Wall Street Journal)

According to Bob Raissman, Yankees radio announcers John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman will return next season on new one-year contracts. The duo just wrapped up two-year contracts. Raissman says there was talk about a third “fill-in” radio announcer, but that won’t happen.

Sterling and Waldman just completed their 14th season together. Sterling hasn’t missed a game in 29 years now, since 1988, and and a few years ago he famously said he is “never going to retire. I don’t understand why people would.” Waldman replaced Charley Steiner in the radio booth in 2005.

I don’t listen to many games on the radio these days, so I don’t have a strong opinion on Sterling and Waldman either way. One thing I’ve learned over the years is most fans don’t like their team’s radio announcers. The Yankees don’t have hiring or firing power over the radio booth, but they do have input, and apparently they wanted Sterling and Waldman back.

Update: Sterling and Waldman agree to new contracts

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(Wall Street Journal)
(Wall Street Journal)

March 8th: It’s a done deal. Both Sterling and Waldman have signed their new contracts, WFAN announced. “Yankees baseball on the radio provides a soundtrack for the summer, and it would be unimaginable to listen to the Bronx Bombers without these two iconic broadcasters,” said CBS Radio executive Marc Rayfield in a statement. “This is a special year, particularly as John closes in on his 5000th consecutive broadcast, an ironman feat almost as remarkable as Cal Ripken, Jr and Lou Gehrig’s legendary streaks.”

February 10th: According to Bob Raissman, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman have agreed to a new two-year contracts to stay on as radio voices of the Yankees. Raissman says negotiations with Sterling were “somewhat acrimonious,” but the Yankees were committed to bringing the duo back.

Sterling and Waldman just completed their 12th season together. Sterling is an iron man, he hasn’t missed a game in 27 years, and last year he said he is “never going to retire. I don’t understand why people would.” Waldman replaced Michael Kay in the radio booth when Kay joined the YES Network.

I enjoy Sterling and Waldman though I don’t listen to many games on the radio. Sterling does seem to be making more mistakes or simply missing more plays nowadays than he did a few years ago. The Yankees reportedly do not have hiring or firing power over the radio booth, but they do have input, and apparently they wanted Sterling and Waldman back for at least another two years.

News & Notes: Lopez, Sabathia, Sterling, Waldman, Franklin

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(Wall Street Journal)
(Wall Street Journal)

Got a few smaller miscellaneous updates of various importance to pass along. Away we go …

Diamondbacks sign Yoan Lopez

According to multiple reports, the Diamondbacks have signed free agent Cuban right-hander Yoan Lopez. His $8.25M bonus is a record under the new international spending rules. Arizona will have to pay a 100% tax on the bonus. Jesse Sanchez says Lopez turned down more money to sign with the D-Backs because he feels it’ll be easiest to crack their rotation. I guess that’s a compliment?

The Yankees reportedly had “strong interest” in Lopez along with several other teams. Meanwhile, the baseball world continues to wait for infielder Yoan Moncada to be unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control so he can sign. That needs to happen before June 15th for the Yankees to have a shot at signing him, and by all accounts Moncada is a potential star at age 19. Moncada is definitely the greater of the two Yoans.

Sabathia feels good, will begin throwing bullpens soon

For the third straight year, CC Sabathia has spent part of the offseason rehabbing. Two years ago it was the bone spur that had to be removed from his elbow. A year ago it was the Grade II hamstring strain he suffered late in September. This year it was the clean-out procedure on his balky right knee.

Sabathia started playing catch in September and, after deciding not to throw off a mound before Thanksgiving, he plans to start throwing bullpen sessions soon. “I’ve been good. I’ve been playing catch. I’ve been throwing. I’ll probably start throwing bullpens by the end of the month … I feel good, I don’t have any pain, no nothing. My arm feels good,” said Sabathia to Mitch Abramson over the weekend.

There’s no real way to know what Sabathia will give the Yankees next season. It could be the knee injury was the root cause of his problems from 2013-14, and this procedure will get him back to being an effective pitcher every fifth day. Or it could just be that he’s a 34-year-old with a ton of innings in his arm and he won’t be much of a help from here on out. Sabathia is going to be one of the most important players to watch in Spring Training.

Sterling and Waldman officially coming back in 2015

This isn’t much of a surprise: John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are officially returning as radio voices of the Yankees this coming season, according to Neil Best. WFAN operations manager Mark Chernoff confirmed the duo will return for their 11th season together. The Yankees don’t have hiring or firing power over the radio announcers, but they do have input.

Sterling hasn’t missed a game in 26 years, and, back in September, he said he is “never going to retire. I don’t understand why people would.” I seem to be in the minority that doesn’t mind Sterling and Waldman, though then again I don’t listen to more than a handful of games on the radio each year. Sterling is an icon at this point. I can’t imagine a Yankees radio broadcast without him.

Franklin set to take over as “roving evaluator”

Over the weekend, Triple-A Scranton and Double-A Trenton announced their coaching staffs for the upcoming season, and a report said longtime Thunder manager Tony Franklin will be taking over manager of the team’s new rookie ball affiliate, the Pulaski Yankees. That isn’t the case though. Franklin told Nick Peruffo he is moving into a “roving evaluator” role.

“I’m extremely happy. It’s given me some renewed energy,” said the 64-year-old Franklin to Peruffo. “(New player development head Gary Denbo) asked me to do something for him. It was an honor for me that he asked … I’m very happy he thought enough of me to do that.”

According to Peruffo, Franklin is going to travel between the team’s minor league affiliates — with an emphasis on the lower level affiliates — and help the organization’s players, managers, and coaches. His official title has not been finalized but he’s basically going to be a roving baseball guru. Franklin had been Trenton’s manager since 2007. Now he’ll have an opportunity to impact more people. Neat.

Best: Sterling and Waldman both likely to return in 2015

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Via Neil Best: Both John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are likely to return to the WFAN radio booth in 2015, which will be their 11th season together. Both are under contract next year but they’re getting up there in age — Sterling is 66 and Waldman is 68 — so they are very much on a year-to-year basis right now. “I’m never going to retire. I don’t understand why people would,” said Sterling, who has not missed a game in 26 years.

The Yankees do not have hiring and firing power over WFAN’s announcers but they do have input and Best says they do not seem inclined to push for a change. Sterling’s errors can be annoying but for the most part I don’t mind the duo in the radio booth. I guess that puts me in the minority. Sterling has become something of an icon at this point and I think Waldman works well with him. At least better than Michael Kay did. Either way, it sounds like they’ll be back in the booth next season.

Newsday: WFAN to host 2014 Yanks’ radio games

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In a move surely designed to annoy tri-state area Mets fans, the Yankees and CBS are close to a deal that move the team’s radio broadcasts for 2014 and beyond onto WFAN, Newsday reports. The Yankees and CBS have had a relationship since 2002 when games shifted from 770 AM to 880. The move, still not yet official, would put the Yanks on the strong 660 AM station as well as on CBS’ new FM origination of the FAN on 101.9 and, according to the Daily News, could be worth as much as $15-$20 million a year for the next ten years.

According to the reports, though, we may not yet have the chance to hear John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman coming to us on the crystal clear FM dial. According to Newsday, Sterling’s return is all but guaranteed, but Waldman’s future remains hazy. Neil Best notes that “if the team gives its blessing, they will continue the on-air partnership that began in 2005.” Despite Waldman’s shortcomings, she’s been a long-time Yankee booster, and I can’t imagine the club is quite ready to dump her.

Nothing though has been finalized, and Lonn Trost said as much to Newsday. “Right now we’re in negotiations and everything is confidential,” the Yanks’ COO said. “Part of the agreement we’re drafting has a confidentiality agreement. I can’t even get into it. I am close with some entity for next year.” The Mets could end up on ESPN Radio or the Clear Channel-owned WOR, an early bidder for the Yanks’ rights.

Perhaps the greatest John Sterling call in history

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If you’re wondering why I frequently complain about John Sterling’s game calling, this is perhaps the most illustrative example I’ve ever encountered. Please excuse the presence of Craig Carton.

Carton ends by saying that the Yankees should employ Sterling and Waldman for life, because they bring something to the game that other broadcast teams cannot. Call me a stick in the mud if you will, but when I’m stuck with a radio broadcast I’d appreciate an accurate description of the game.

By the way, this is a shot of McGehee’s hit. Just for reference.

A shifting future for the Yanks’ radio broadcast

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On Monday morning, New York City’s long-running R&B station Kiss FM will lose its music. Shortly after midnight, the station will flip from music to sports talk radio as ESPN is moving its operations from 1050 on the AM dial to 98.7 FM. It’s a big move for New York City radio as sports now invade FM, and it’s a move that could impact the future of the New York Yankees’ radio broadcasts as well.

Currently, the Yanks are wrapping up an extended radio stay on WCBS AM 880. Their long-term deal expired after the 2011 season, but with an ESPN move rumored since early last year, the club opted to re-up for one more season with CBS before setting off a radio bidding war. In doing so, the club allowed ESPN to find a radio home that would boost its signal and provide a more inviting home for the Yanks’ radio broadcasts.

With this weekend’s looming format change, then, the pieces are in place for a fight over the rights to the Yanks’ broadcasts, but it’s currently unclear what that deal will resemble. Currently, according to Phil Mushnick, CBS pays $14 million to broadcast the Yanks and $7 million for the rights to the Mets on WFAN. Supposedly, the media company loses money on the Yanks’ broadcasts, but that doesn’t mean WCBS isn’t interested. In fact, with the Mets’ deal expiring after 2013, CBS could retain the Yanks but move them to 660 AM a year later.

Of course, ESPN may have something to say about that as well. According to numerous reports, ESPN is spending big bucks on the move to FM in order to attract some baseball. With a better signal, they’re in a position to make an enticing offer for a New York team. While these behind-the-scene machinations are all well and good for clubs looking to line their pockets with broadcast dollars, what does it mean for those of us listening at home?

For starters, if the Yanks were to move to FM, their extended radio network becomes a lot more important locally. Take a look at the vast WCBS signal coverage map and compare that with 98.7 FM’s map. While the FM signal will be crisper — the better to hear John Sterling — its reach is not nearly as expansive as WCBS’. (For what its worth, night-time coverage for AM 1050, ESPN Radio’s current home, is limited.) So while New York City residents and those who live nearby will be able to better hear Yankee games, the folks a little farther away will have to find a local affiliate. As an AM landing home, WFAN, with its vast signal coverage area, would be ideal.

The bigger question though concerns two of the most controversial members of the Yankee family. Would the club retain John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman, not-so-affectionately dubbed Ma and Pa Pinstripe by the New York City tabloids? If it were up to those same tabloid writers, the two broadcasters would be replaced tomorrow. Phil Mushnick of The Post has held a vendetta against the liberties Sterling takes with his play-by-play duties. Recently, Mushnick slammed Sterling for botching a call in the bottom of the 9th of a one-run game. Yesterday, he claimed a new radio deal could spell the end of Sterling and Waldman. “It’s highly unlikely,” he wrote, “that ESPN, if it lands the Yankees — especially attached to a big price tag — would be bound to retain the team’s current longtime broadcast duo of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.”

In The Daily News, Bob Raissman has pushed a similar argument, but I don’t agree. For better or worse, Sterling is a part of the Yankees’ image right now. He’s been with the club since 1989 and serves as an M.C. on TV and at Yankee-related events. The club will likely require its next rights partner to retain Sterling. Waldman’s job is less secure, and last year, Moshe ran down a list of possible replacements. Still, I’d be more surprised if the duo weren’t together next year on a new station than if they are.

So the wheels are turning indeed. It doesn’t sound as though the Yanks are inclined to start their own radio network, but their rights will be in play. I’ve heard the games on FM up in New England, and the sound is certainly clearer than that traditional AM broadcast. To win the games though with a more limited signal, ESPN Radio will have to pay heavily. With the Yanks, though, money talks, and they won’t say no if the dollars are right.