Special gifts from Giants, Nestor Cortes mark John Sterling’s 85th birthday
![John Sterling tuns 85 as he prepares for the Yankees vs. Orioles game on July 4, 2023, at Yankee Stadium.](https://pinstripesnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/image-32-1024x846.png)
![John Allen](https://pinstripesnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/gerrit-cole-new-york-yankees-19-august.png)
John Allen
More Stories By John Allen
- Mother’s Day: How Anthony Volpe’s mom molded him into a Yankee phenom
- Luis Gil learns on the fly but strikes against Mets ‘not there yet’
- Aaron Judge joins Babe Ruth in setting up another Yankees milestone
- Yankees 2-12 Mets: Judge on cliff but team on free fall
- New start time: Yankees vs. Mets ready to resume after extended rain delay
- July 5, 2023
- 8:27 am
- No Comments
Table of Contents
Tuesday was the 85th birthday of the Yankees’ famed radio commentator John Sterling. While the Yankees honored him for that, the sportscaster received a unique gift — a football helmet — from the San Francisco Giants. Starter Nestor Cortes added another memorable gift to this special occasion.
During a special event commemorating the birthday on Tuesday, the WFAN Yankees play-by-play broadcaster received a football helmet as a gift from the Giants. This gesture came in response to an incident a month ago when John Sterling was struck by a foul ball in the face during a broadcast in June.
Even a 🐐 gets to celebrate a birthday. A very happy birthday to the legend, our very own John Sterling.
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) July 4, 2023
The @Giants sent along a helmet to protect him from further foul balls.
The @Yankees and Lonn Trost brought him the awesome cake. pic.twitter.com/ZcBEjfv0pQ
Michael Kay, the YES broadcaster, mentioned that the football helmet was sent to John Sterling by none other than co-owner John Mara.
The @Giants ‘ John Mara sent John Sterling a helmet for his birthday to keep him safe from future foul balls in the booth. pic.twitter.com/tVDXsKHrym
— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) July 4, 2023
It seems that the Giants were determined to protect John Sterling from any potential harm caused by another foul ball.
Nester Cortes’ memorable gift for John Sterling
According to a tweet by Michael Kay, Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes had shirts made to honor John Sterling’s resilience, in addition to the football helmet gift.
Nestor Cortes asked @RotoWear to design a shirt honoring the toughness of John Sterling. The whole team has them. #ow #ow pic.twitter.com/cbTMpFO9gb
— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) July 4, 2023
Yankees players received shirts featuring a depiction of a person wearing a suit and holding a microphone, with two bandages labeled “Ow!” placed on their faces.
During the ninth inning of the June 10 game between the Yankees and the Red Sox, a foul ball from Justin Turner struck Yankees closer Clay Holmes‘ pitch, ricocheted off the desk, and unintentionally struck John Sterling in the face.
![John Sterling returned to Yankees booth at Yankee Stadium on June 11, 2023, a day after a foul ball hit him in the head.](https://pinstripesnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/image-27-1024x887.png)
“Swung on, a popped foul, back here,” John Sterling said on the broadcast. “Ow! Ow! Ow! It really hit me. I didn’t know it was coming back that far.”
Despite being hit by the foul ball, John Sterling remained resilient and continued his play-by-play commentary without skipping a beat. He proceeded to call the final out of the Yankees’ win and later described the incident as a minor “glancing blow” during a postgame interview.
Almost four weeks later, he joined in a birthday celebration before the Yankees’ game against the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. The festivities took place outside the WFAN booth, where he typically broadcasts.
The video everyone has been asking for.
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) June 11, 2023
No, a foul ball cannot stop John Sterling from calling a Yankees win 💪 #SterlingCam pic.twitter.com/avHu9w6XfY
He was welcomed with a rendition of the “Happy Birthday” song, performed by a group that included Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman, his broadcast partners at WFAN. A cake adorned with the message “Happy Birthday John” and a microphone design was also presented to him, with the words scripted on the top layer.
On his birthday, John Sterling showcased his signature home run call when Yankee’s second baseman Gleyber Torres sent a ball soaring over the left-field fence in the opening inning, prompting John Sterling to exclaim “Gleyber Day” as the Yankees surged ahead with a 2-0 lead.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
- Categories: John Sterling, nestor cortes
- Tags: John Sterling, nestor cortes
![John Allen](https://pinstripesnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/gerrit-cole-new-york-yankees-19-august.png)