And Sterling goes silent!
The toughest start to a season in recent Yankees memory has been hard on John Sterling, all these names to remember and home-run calls to create.
One slipped through the cracks.
Infielder Thairo Estrada, playing in his eighth big-league game amid the flood of injuries, stepped up to bat in the second inning of Monday’s game against the Mariners with a runner on first and zero home runs to his name.
A pitch later, he still had zero Sterling home-run calls to his name.
“She’s gone!” came the call as the ball cleared the fence. And about a five-second pause ensued, dead air instead of a Sterling-ism. “Thairo Estrada goes the opposite way and drills a two-run home run to right-center.”
As social media pounced on it, Sterling thanked some helpful listeners.
“I want to thank all the people who were listening and have offered Thairo Estrada home-run calls,” he said. “I’ve gotten a couple of good ones. I just told Suzyn [Waldman] — I didn’t know he was going to hit a home run.”
But that’s baseball, Suzyn, and fans have become accustomed to Sterling’s creativity. But this season, with injuries piling up and minor leaguers wearing pinstripes, has tested him.
“It’s gratifying to hear how much people like them and look forward to them,” Sterling recently told The Post’s Mike Vaccaro of his calls. “People who know me know I don’t spend one bit of time on the internet, so I’m not really aware of what people say there. But I know people who come up to me seem to love that I do this.”