Brendan Burke has emerged as the front-runner to replace John Sterling.
Sterling is not leaving, but the succession plan has begun and will be expanded this offseason, according to sources.
Sterling, an “Iron Man” throughout his career, has reduced the number of games he calls in the second half of this season as he increasingly dislikes traveling.
He has been the Yankees‘ play-by-play announcer for over three decades, including a streak of 5,058 game broadcasts that concluded in July of 2019.
While there is no formal plan in place, Sterling could potentially only do home games and some road games in the future; however, Sterling may not be fully on board just yet.
In a phone interview on Wednesday, Sterling confirmed that he no longer enjoys traveling, but that he feels good and intends to continue calling many games, even raising the possibility of returning to a full 162-game schedule.
While Sterling will have a say, the transition to Burke may begin in earnest next year. Burke, like Howie Rose in the past, could play two roles. Rose used to work for both the Islanders and the Mets. Burke took over as the Islanders’ TV play-by-player after Rose. Burke also covers the NHL on a national scale for Turner Sports. FAN and Burke have yet to reach an agreement on a full contract.
The Yankees and FAN announced an extension of their contract on Wednesday, bringing the decision on the future of the booth even closer.
According to sources, the agreement could last up to seven years, but both parties have some opt-outs. The current FAN agreement, which pays the Yankees between $15 and $20 million per season, has one year remaining.
The Yankees will receive slightly less money per year than in the past, but the length of the contract is critical to them because they are required to share 33% of their radio revenue with the rest of baseball.
The two parties also hope to expand their collaboration with some innovative new programming.
Burke was not FAN’s only choice. Ryan Ruocco was high on the list, but he may have too many responsibilities at ESPN and YES TV to make it work. FAN has praised Justin Shackil and Rickie Ricardo’s fill-in work, but Burke is in the starting lineup.
Suzyn Waldman, 75, was recently inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame, and her role as a radio analyst is not expected to change. She has gotten along well with all of this year’s fill-ins, including Burke.
If a more robust schedule works out and Burke becomes the Yankees’ voice, he’ll have come full circle.
Brendan grew up with the Yankees because his father, Don, was a Yankee beat writer for the Star-Ledger and is now a copy editor at The Post. Brendan had a picture of himself sitting between Sterling and Michael Kay, the radio team when he was nine years old.
Burke, now 38, could be the one following Sterling in one of sports radio’s most iconic spots.
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