The New York Yankees are nearing an agreement to replace legendary play-by-play broadcaster John Sterling. Mariners TV announcer Dave Sims is closing in on a deal with WFAN to become the Yankees’ radio voice, according to the New York Post.
An official deal has not been finalized, and WFAN declined to comment. However, sources told The Post that the Yankees would be “supportive” of Sims as Sterling’s replacement.
Yankees, WFAN closing in on John Sterling replacement
Sims has called Mariners games on television since 2007. He won three consecutive Washington Sportscaster of the Year awards (2018-2020) from the National Sports Media Association.
The 71-year-old began his play-by-play career as the voice of Temple football. He had stints as the voice of Big East football’s game of the week from 1993-1994 and 1998-2007. The Philadelphia native joined ESPN during that span to call college basketball and football games.
From 1998-2014, he joined Westwood One to call NFL play-by-play, including Sunday Night and Monday Night Football. He also broadcasted the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on the network.
More recently, he co-hosted Basketball and Beyond with former Duke head coach Mike Krzyewski on Sirius XM Satellite Radio.
Sims has experience in the New York market and at WFAN, having hosted a midday sports talk show alongside Ed Coleman from 1989-93. He began his sports media career as a writer for the New York Daily News.
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The Yankees’ Spanish radio announcer, Rickie Ricardo, was also in the running for the job. Ricardo, Justin Shackil and Emmanuel Berbari were fill-ins for Sterling in the radio booth alongside Suzyn Waldman over the last two seasons.
Sims has large shoes to fill in the Bronx. Sterling joined the Yankees as their radio voice in 1989 and called 5,060 consecutive games. After stepping away early in the 2024 season, he returned to the broadcast boost for this year’s playoffs. The 89-year-old officially retired after the Yankees’ World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sterling’s iconic “Theeeeeeee Yankees win!” call became a staple of the fan experience for generations of New Yorkers. He was inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2016.