Iconic Yankees Announcer John Sterling Rescued from Rapid Flooding by Spanish Radio Voice Rickie Ricardo
New York Yankees radio voice John Sterling received a major assist from one of his colleagues Wednesday night, when he was rescued from a flood by Spanish play-by-play announcer Rickie Ricardo.
Sterling and Ricardo separately called Wednesday night’s road game against the Los Angeles Angels from Yankee Stadium because the team’s radio crews have not travelled due to Covid protocols. Driving home from the stadium, Sterling’s Cadillac got caught in a flooded street during the deadly rainstorms produced by remnants of Hurricane Ida.
“Usually when we finish a game, John Sterling is the first one to leave. He does the totals, the wrap up, and he and his engineer, they go,” Ricardo told WFAN’s Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray. “I stick around. I do the Spanish post-game show, so you know, I’m the last one to leave the stadium.”
By the time Ricardo was ready to leave, the lobby at Yankee Stadium was completely flooded. “Water above your ankles,” he said.
The dangerous flooding from Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on the northeast this week, killing dozens with the death toll continuing to rise as others remain missing.
Sterling’s radio partner, Suzyn Waldman, who broadcasts the games from home, called Ricardo to inform him Sterling was stuck on River Road in Edgewater, NJ, located just over the George Washington Bridge.
“I’ve seen how bad it gets flooded on River Road in Edgewater, and with the kind of rain we had, I can only imagine,” Ricardo said. “So I said, ‘Suzyn, I’m on my way. I know where he lives. I’ll figure out where he’s at and I’ll see what I can do.’”
Ricardo called Sterling and stayed on the phone until he made it to River Road, finding his colleague among the 25 or so vehicles that were now stuck on the flooded street, with water rising above their tires.
Driving in his Jeep, Ricardo pulled up behind Sterling, rolled up his pant legs and helped the 83-year-old broadcaster out of his flooded Cadillac. According to Ricardo, it took another hour to find a clear route to Sterling’s apartment, which was only about a half-mile away from the scene.
“Without him, I’m in trouble,’’ Sterling told NorthJersey.com. “I was scared.”
“All I did was what I would have done for anyone,” Ricardo added on WFAN.
Watch above via WFAN
