John Sterling has been the New York Yankees lead announcer since 1989.
His voice has been synonymous with Yankee baseball and the winning pedigree that it brings.
While 84 years old, the aging Sterling has looked to reduce his traveling, especially over the last year. That has left others to potentially fill the void, both now and in the future, that Sterling walks away from.
According to reports, one of those replacements has made such an impression on the viewers that there are already talks to replace Sterling in the near, but distant future.
Brendan Burke, is the lead television play-by-play announcer for the New York Islanders, replacing Howie Rose in 2016. Now, Burke could be expected to fill in for Sterling in different road games next season with the long-time announcer reportedly “hating” traveling.
Sterling’s other potential replacements
While WFAN has already agreed to a contract extension with the New York Yankees, their search for Sterling’s replacement hasn’t just gone through Burke.
Ryan Ruocco was someone who was high on the list, but he may have too many ESPN and YES TV responsibilities to make it viable. FAN has liked the fill-in work of Justin Shackil and Rickie Ricardo, but Burke is in the on-deck circle.
While Sterling will have a say in when he calls it a career, the beginning of a transition to Burke could happen in earnest next year. Burke also does the NHL nationally for Turner Sports.
There have yet to be any full contract discussions between FAN and Burke.
A more full-time role would allow Burke to call games for the team he grew up watching. His father was a Yankee beat writer for the Star-Ledger.
It could be the moment Burke has been looking for to come full circle in his broadcasting career.
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