The Ultimate John Sterling Home Run Call Power Rankings
John Sterling has been the radio voice of the Yankees for decades and still brings an infectious enthusiasm to the job (AP Photo/Bill Kostrum).
It is high, it is far, it is gone!” The radio voice of the Yankees, John Sterling, is a comforting voice to Yankees fans. Along with Suyzn Waldman, John has been calling every Yankees game on the radio for decades and although he doesn’t always provide accuracy, he makes up for it with his affable tones and enthusiasm. Sterling’s signature shtick is to provide a custom made home run call for each member of the Yankees lineup. These calls have ranged from the memorable “An A-Bomb for A-Rod...Bern Baby Bern...the Bam-Tino” to the groan inducing “Steven Drew, how do you do?....Sir Lancelot rides to the rescue (for Lance Berkman).” Today, I will set out on the task to rank Sterling’s home run calls for all the hitters who have appeared for the Yankees this year. Turn those dials to 660 AM and listen to the dulcet tones of John and Suyzn with me, won’t you?
(If you are interested in looking up the John Sterling home run call for your favorite Yankees circa 2002-present day, use this excellent resource from The Captain’s Blog to do so!
15. Tyler Wade - “Tyler Wade! Made in the shade!”
Tyler Wade has six career home runs. This was always going to be a call that Sterling didn’t put much thought into. However, he abandons all pretense of a pun or clever quip to just pick words that rhyme with Wade. It reminds one of this Happy Gilmore clip.
Not John’s best work here.
14. Luke Voit - “Voit hits one to Detroit, Voit is adroit!”
There are a few problems with Sterling’s call for Luke Voit. First, many people point out that Voit’s home runs are hit to left field at Yankee Stadium, which is decidedly not in the direction of Detroit. Second, adroit means “clever or skillful in using the hands or mind”, which is not how I’d characterize someone hitting a home run. It makes sense literally, but it seems like Sterling just searched for words that ended in -oit and ran with it.
13. Miguel Andjuar - “Andjuar hits it far! He’s getting Miggy with it!”
Another non-creative Sterling rhyme here. This one gets bonus points because of the rhyme between Andujar and far, which is a word that relates to home run hitting in some manner. Getting Miggy with it adds a bit of an extra kick, but this one still ranks behind some others because of its simplicity.
12. DJ LeMahieu - “David John makes long gone”
This is a bit of a weird one. I don’t think anyone has called DJ David John in any capacity except for Sterling, and calling a home run “making long gone” is a big stretch. There were many DJ related puns available and Sterling went for this, which feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. (Also, we had to throw in a “back to back, belly to belly” on this list somewhere, which is a Sterling favorite for back to back home runs).
11. Rougned Odor - “You are Odor-iffic, Je T'adore, Odor!”
We’ve now entered the foreign language portion of the rankings, with the newest Yankee coming in at #11 on the list. Odor-iffic is a weak entrant, but Sterling comes through with the second half of the call, veering into some French to declare his love for dingers. You and me both, John.
10. Giancarlo Stanton - “Giancarlo, no se puo stoparlo! A Stantonian home run!”
If nothing else, Sterling has shown a flair for multilingual home run calls. From French, we break out the Italian for Stanton’s home run call, which means “cannot be stopped.” Let’s turn it over to John for some backstory.
"After they got Giancarlo, obviously people were asking me, 'Well, what's the home run call going to be?'" Sterling said. "I called up Berlitz [Academy of Foreign Languages], and I said to their Italian master, a gal named Linda. And I said, 'I would like an Italian phrase for Giancarlo that rhymes with Giancarlo.'
"It took Linda a few days, and she came back with, 'non si puo stoparlo.' And I thought, 'Gee, that's great.'"
Alright then. It rolls off the tongue but the fact that you have to look up what it means hurts it a bit in the standings.
9. Aaron Hicks - “Hicks hits it to the sticks!”
This isn’t Sterling’s most creative call, but there’s a catchiness about this one that helps it. Hicks and sticks just roll off the tongue quite nicely. However, there’s a lot we don’t know about this call - where are the sticks and how do they symbolize a home run has been hit? It’s supposed to signify that it was hit really far but if you think about it, it doesn’t make much sense.
8. Mike Ford - “There’s a Ford in your future, Mike is Ford tough!”
If you’ve ever listened to a Yankees radio broadcast, you know that there are a ton of ad reads from John and Suzyn. As such, a player with the last name Ford fits right into the mix here. The brand synergy is admirable, although a desire not to be ruled by corporate America drops this one a few spots.
7. Gary Sanchez - “The Sanchino! Gary is scary! The Kraken cracks one!”
Gary Sanchez doesn’t hit as many home runs as he used to, but when he gets hot, Sterling breaks out this call a lot. It plays on Gary’s “The Kraken'' nickname, which isn’t entirely original, but gets extra points for associating the Yankees slugger with a rhyming word that expresses the fear he instills in Ken Giles and David Price. And of course, Sterling can’t help but break out the Babe Ruth reference every once in a while (and Yankees Files is unabashedly pro-the Babe). A middle of the road Sterling jumble but one that doesn’t disappoint.
6. Brett Gardner - “Gardy goes yardy! He plants one! Let the Gardy Party begin!”
The oldest call in Sterling’s repertoire, you have to respect an old favorite. It utilizes a common home run call (going yard), rhymes it with the nickname of the player, and then loops in a reference on the other meaning of the player’s name. A complete Sterling call. We’ll give it a middle of the pack spot for the Yankees veteran.
5. Kyle Higashioka - “Higashioka, the home run stroka!”
We head into our top five calls, starting with the Yankees backup catcher, who has hit more than his fair share of home runs this year. This call rolls off the tongue quite nicely and is fun to say even if you’re not the radio voice of the New York Yankees. As Higgy continues to mash, more fans have gotten to hear Sterling extoll the virtues of the “home run stroka ''. Bonus points for the “Kyle makes you smile” add in that Sterling sometimes provides.
4. Clint Frazier - “Downtown goes Frazier!”
This is perhaps Sterling’s most creative call within the current cadre of players and is based on the famous Ali-Frazier boxing fight. It incorporates both a home run reference (going downtown) and a pop culture reference (the aforementioned fight). It’s a nice bit of work by Sterling, only topped by a select few calls in this ranking.
3. Gio Urshela - “Gio Urshela, a most happy fella!”
You can judge a good Sterling home run call by how it carries over into the public lexicon. Do fans use the calls when referring to the players outside of listening to a radio broadcast? The top three calls all have carried over and stuck to the players as actual nicknames. First up is the Yankee third baseman, who gets his call said twice, first in normal tones and then in a sing-song voice. If it’s one thing John Sterling loves to do, it’s sing on a home run call (ironic since his broadcast partner is the actual Broadway talent).
2. Gleyber Torres - “It’s Gleyber Day! Like a good Gleyber, Torres is there!”
There haven’t been many Gleyber Torres home runs this year, but Sterling got to break this one out last weekend for the first time. This combines an excellent, but not forced, brand reference with an association to a holiday that has caught on whenever Torres does something well. It’s Gleyber Day all year round for Yankees fans!
1. Aaron Judge - “It’s Judgement Day! All rise, here comes the Judge!”
At last we arrive at the top spot on the list, and its one that goes up there with the Sterling classics. Aaron Judge’s last name is rife with pun opportunities and Sterling takes no shortcuts when calling the numerous moonshots that the Yankees slugger launches. All Rise was so popular that Judge used it on the back of his Player’s Weekend jersey. And Judgement Day...I know it’s obvious, but sometimes you just have to sit back and embrace the obvious.
There you have it, our definitive John Sterling home run call ranking. Please tear apart and criticize as you see fit. After all, that’s the beauty of John Sterling - the calls may be silly, but when the Yankees trade for or sign a new hitter, the Internet will be abuzz trying to stay one step ahead of the master in predicting his newest call. Rest assured, Sterling will undoubtedly surprise us, as he always does. For better or for worse, he’s always willing to put his personal touch on any Yankees home run.
