New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling got fooled again by a Giancarlo Stanton fly ball, calling it gone…and then caught.
Since 1989, John Sterling has been the iconic voice calling the most memorable Yankees moments. In all that time, he’s seen thousands of home runs. He’s also seen his share of home runs that weren’t.
The longtime broadcaster added to his list of flubs on Wednesday when he declared Giancarlo Stanton’s deep fly ball into left field a home run.
Spoiler: It wasn’t.
John Sterling was completely fooled on Giancarlo Stanton’s long fly ball
“That ball is high. It is far! It is gone…but caught,” Sterling said, his initial excitement giving way to the most disappointing reality check.
It’s not like Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Raimel Tapia did anything spectacular to deny the home run, either. It was a routine catch on the warning track.
The Yankees likely shared in Sterling’s dismay, as they could have used that home run. Anthony Rizzo, Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torress all hit homers for New York, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. smashed three all on his own for the Blue Jays.
Stanton was pinch-hitting in the bottom of the eight with the Yankees trailing 6-4. If that ball had flown a bit further, he would have tied the game at 6-6.
Clearly, a win for the Yankees was not meant to be. While Sterling may have wished he could will the result into a home run, he couldn’t, and the final score remained 6-4.
Over his storied announcing career, Sterling has done this before. During the Yankees’ Wild Card game against the Red Sox, he mistakenly called a very similar Stanton hit a homer. To Sterling’s credit, that particular hit bounced off the wall and created some understandable confusion.
Announcing flubs happen. Sterling isn’t going to get every call right, but after 50 years of calling games, it may be time to start waiting to celebrate home runs until they’re confirmed.