Yankees' legendary broadcaster John Sterling. Bob Karp/Staff Photographer/ USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

Watch: Angels, Islanders announcers honor Yankees legend in broadcast booth

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 4/16/24

Television play-by-play announcers Brendan Burke of the New York Islanders and Wayne Randazzo of the Los Angeles Angels paid homage to retiring New York Yankees radio icon John Sterling on Monday night.

John Sterling is one of the reasons I became a broadcaster. He will always be what baseball sounds like to me. Congratulations on a legendary career. https://t.co/iGqxBGfVT1
— Brendan Burke (@brendanmburke) April 16, 2024

“It is high! It is far! It is gone!”

Angels broadcaster Wayne Randazzo with a nod to John Sterling on this Mike Trout home run call pic.twitter.com/c0XVQ7sto7
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 16, 2024

Sterling is expected to announce his official retirement at a news conference on Saturday and the team will be honoring him that day ahead of their home game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 85-year-old began calling Yankees games in 1989 and worked 5,060 consecutive contests until that streak ended in the summer of 2019.

In addition to his "It is high! It is far! It is gone!" signature, Sterling has dedicated his work in the booth to creating unique home run calls tailored to each individual Yankees player.

Among the scores of people to react to Sterling's retirement were Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter.

Congrats to John Sterling on an amazing career. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to and working with John for decades. He is a major part of Yankee history and will be greatly missed.
— Derek Jeter (@derekjeter) April 15, 2024

WFAN's Emmanuel Berbari and Justin Shackil both released statements on the news as well. Berbari and Shackhil have been working alongside longtime color commentator Suzyn Waldman when Sterling is off and will be replacing the legend on a full-time basis.