Longtime Yankees Broadcaster John Sterling Has Reportedly Died at 87

The baseball world has just suffered a major blow. John Sterling, a longtime New York Yankees broadcaster, has reportedly passed away.

He was 87.

John, who joined the Yankeed organization as an announcer in 1989, had his death announced by WFAN Sports Radio on May 4, 2026.

As fans and baseball lovers grapple with the news, many are wondering if John’s death was expected. While he did have his share of health complications over the years, many didn’t expect to hear this news.

According to Yahoo News, the cause of John’s death is currently unknown. And unfortunately, this makes the news even harder to swallow.

The outlet shares that in February 2026, John had revealed that he suffered a heart attack a month prior. John said at the time that he was recovering well, despite the heart attack impacting his mobility, mainly the use of his legs.

Additionally, it’s reported that John decided to retire in April 2024 due to struggling with the long hours of the job and consistent travel to and from games. That said, while he shared that he thoroughly enjoyed his job, the decision to move on was best.

Not to mention, he also suffered a blood infection in 2020, causing him to miss multiple games.

Since it appears that the family and loved ones prefer to keep John’s cause of death a family matter, the world may never know what led to his passing.

That said, many fans and fellow broadcasters have been sharing touching tributes about John’s legacy.

Per Celebrity Net Worth, John’s finances proved it paid to be a sports announcer. The outlet shares that over the years, John was able to sustain a net worth of $2 million. This number is the accumulation of John’s work as a sports broadcaster.

In addition, John had earned a salary of $500,000 as the Yankees announcer.

The outlet shares that John had a long history as an announcer, working for the Baltimore Bullets during the 1970 - 1971 season, calling Morgan State University games. In the 80s, he hosted a sports call-in program on WSB and covered Braves and Hawks games for Turner Sports.

He also spent a lot of his time in the sports world in the New York market. He worked radio for the ABA/NBA's Jets, the NHL's Islanders, the WFL's Stars,and the WHA's Raiders.

Although John had been around in the sports world, his longest tenure stood with the Yankees. Aside from calling over 5,000 games, he was also the emcee for several special ceremonies and off-field events.

John leaves behind four children, including a set of triplets.

We’d like to give our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of John Sterling.