John Sterling fed up with calling games from afar after replay home run gaffe

John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman have had enough of calling Yankees games off a monitor. 

While the Yankees hit the road, Sterling and Waldman remain in the Bronx, calling the games off YES Network’s TV feed inside a mostly-empty Yankee stadium — an oddity that began during the 2020 season due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. During Tuesday’s game against the Mariners in Seattle, the unorthodox broadcast style caused a gaffe on Sterling’s part. 

Attempting to announce the game off his monitor, Sterling saw a replay of a second-inning home run from Aaron Judge. Mistaking the replay for live action, Sterling began reciting his classic home run call, incorrectly crediting Judge with his second home run of the night. 

Only afterwards did Sterling realize his mistake. 

“Unfortunately, that was the replay of the home run,” Sterling said. “But it was a good replay.” 

Sterling then lamented the fact that he was calling the game from nearly 3,000 miles away. 

“I’m sorry, it’s on a monitor,” Sterling said. “What am I supposed to do?”

“This is a great way to do a game, isn’t it?” Waldman quipped. 

Pandemic-induced capacity limitations have been lifted across the league and both Waldman and Sterling are vaccinated. However, there remains no timetable for the duo’s potential return to pre-pandemic broadcasting and travel. The Yankees’ radio rights holder, WFAN, and its parent company, Audacy, save money by keeping them in the Bronx, eliminating travel expenses. 

Last month, Waldman told the Post’s Andrew Marchand she was “embarrassed” after missing a controversial foul tip-or-no foul tip play during a Yankees-Blue Jays game that took place in Buffalo. If Waldman had been in the stadium for the play, she feels she would have been able to glean a better feel for what had happened.