New York Yankees Radio Network

The New York Yankees Radio Network is a CBS-owned broadcast radio network that broadcasts New York Yankees baseball games. The network is made up of 52 AM and FM stations in fourteen states.^[1] The network's flagship station for the network is WCBS in New York City, which produces each broadcast in association with the team.

All-sports-radio sister station WFAN has also served as the team's radio flagship station. In a rare move, WFAN carried the live broadcast of the Yankees day / night doubleheader at the Baltimore Orioles on August 28, 2011, so WCBS could remain within its usual news format for live, continuing coverage of Hurricane Irene.^[2]

The YES Network provides some technical support for each broadcast, and XM Satellite Radio carries the network's feed for every home game the Yankees play as per their contract. A separate, Spanish-language broadcast airs on New York's WADO, 1280 AM.

The network was formed in 2002 after WCBS outbid former Yankees radio flagship WABC for the radio rights to the team.

Broadcasters

Since 2005, John Sterling (play-by-play) and Suzyn Waldman (color commentary) have been the Yankees Radio Network broadcast team. Waldman is currently the first and (so far) only woman to hold a full-time position with a major league team, and had previously served as a Yankees beat reporter for the YES Network before moving to the broadcast booth; before that Waldman was a longtime reporter for WFAN where she covered the Yankees as well as various other teams (including the New York Knicks).^[3] Sterling has been the radio voice of the Yankees since 1989, not having missed a game since taking the position, and had previously worked with Jay Johnstone, Joe Angel, and Michael Kay before joining WCBS. He is widely known (and perhaps infamous) for his home run calls, which often involve one of his player nicknames or catchphrases and for saying Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win! after a Yankee victory. Sterling will often stretch out "the" for dramatic victories as well as say "Yankees win" in a more excited voice. (Naturally then, if the team loses, Sterling will end with a more subdued Ballgame over, (opposing team) wins)

The original Yankees Radio Network broadcast booth continued the practice that WABC and various other Yankee flagship stations had by having two play-by-play announcers share the booth and alternate as the game went on. After Michael Kay was promoted to the team's lead television voice, the Yankees hired ESPN's Charley Steiner away from the network to share the booth with Sterling. The two stayed together until Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series. After the season, to make room for Suzyn Waldman's move to the broadcast booth, Steiner was to become the YES Network's studio host for Yankee games as well as for its coverage of the New Jersey Nets. However, Steiner elected to join the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network instead after the team decided to fire longtime radio voice Ross Porter.

Format

The broadcast begins with the pregame show, referred to on air as the "Tri-State BMW Pregame Show" for 2010, which begins approximately thirty-five minutes prior to first pitch and runs for approximately twenty-five minutes. John Sterling begins by welcoming the fans to the broadcast, reviewing the game's pitching matchup, gives the pregame show's rundown, and introduces the broadcast team in the booth.

"The Manager's Show" is first on the pregame show and features a pre-recorded interview between Sterling and Yankees manager Joe Girardi, where the two discuss the team and the upcoming game. Following this the pregame show returns live for "Diamond Notes", where Suzyn Waldman reports on the baseball news of the day. "The Leadoff Spot" is the last item on the pregame show where Waldman usually interviews a Yankee player but will occasionally speak to opposing players or other broadcasters. Sterling then returns live to wrap up the pregame show.

The game broadcast begins after a short commercial break, and Waldman returns to give the starting lineups and the pitching matchup. Sterling rejoins the broadcast as the game's leadoff hitter steps into the batter's box.

The fifth inning is dubbed "The Daily News Fifth", carrying on a tradition started when the Yankees called WABC home. A reporter from the New York Daily News (almost always team beat writer Mark Feinsand) joins the broadcast team during the opponent's half of the fifth and discusses news in and around the team in between pitches.

For the last inning or so, depending on how long the game continues, Sterling will announce the game by himself to allow Waldman enough time to get to the clubhouse for the postgame. If the Yankees win the game, Waldman will choose a player for her "Star of the Game" interview and then head into the clubhouse; if not, Sterling will recap the totals and reveal the player of the game (which he does anyway, regardless) and close the game broadcast.

After another commercial break the postgame show, which for 2010 is called the "Mini Cooper Postgame Show", begins. The postgame begins with the highlights from the game, which include the top defensive play of the game (referred to as the "Good Hands" Defensive Play and sponsored by Allstate) and the "Land Rover Drive of the Game" (which often is a home run but also can show a hard hit that drove in multiple runs). There is also one play dubbed the "WCBS NewsRadio 880 Turning Point of the Game", and listeners can win a prize by correctly remembering the play during the next morning's newscast. Waldman's clubhouse report then follows the highlight show.

After a commercial break the broadcast shifts to WCBS' newsroom where the sports anchor on duty runs down the scores from around the major leagues and hosts the "Sounds of the Game" segment, where a snippet of the postgame news conferences provided by the YES Network is played. Sterling then returns to give one final postgame award (the "Cut Above The Rest", a Supercuts-sponsored award given to the player or players who had the highest on base percentage), review the next game's pitching matchup and start time, and close the broadcast.

Affiliate stations

The current affiliates are: ^[4]

New York

• 1380 AM WABH Bath
• 1430 AM WENE Binghamton
• 1230 AM WECK Cheektowaga/Buffalo
• 1410 AM WELM Elmira
• 1340 AM WENT Gloversville
• 1240 AM WJTN Jamestown (Weekend games only)
• 94.3 FM WKXP Kingston
• 1230 AM WIXT Little Falls
• 104.5 FM WTMM-FM Mechanicville/Albany/Schenectady
• 1420 AM WACK Newark
• 103.1 FM WJGK Newburgh (Associated with 96.7 FM WTSX Port Jervis)
• 880 AM WCBS New York City (flagship)
• 101.1 FM HD3 WCBS-FM HD3 New York City
• 1400 AM WSLB Ogdensburg
• 1340 AM WIRY Plattsburgh
• 96.7 FM WTSX Port Jervis
• 1280 AM WHTK Rochester
• 1180 AM WHAM_(AM) Rochester
• 1350 AM WRNY Rome
• 570 AM/106.9 FM WSYR Syracuse (Night and weekend games only)
• 1160 AM WPIE Trumansburg/Ithaca/Elmira
• 1310 AM WTLB Utica
• 1410 AM WNER Watertown
• 97.3 FM WZAD Wurtsboro (Associated with 94.3 FM WKXP Kingston)

New Jersey

• 107.1 FM WWYY Belvidere/Easton, PA/Stroudsburg, PA (Western NJ/Lehigh Valley/The Poconos)

Connecticut

• 600 AM WICC Bridgeport
• 800 AM WLAD Danbury
• 1410 AM WPOP Hartford
• 1300 AM WAVZ New Haven
• 1240 AM WWCO Waterbury

Pennsylvania

• 107.1 FM WWYY Easton/Stroudsburg/Belvidere, NJ (Lehigh Valley/The Poconos/Western NJ)
• 1550 AM WTTC Towanda
• 1340 AM WWPA Williamsport

Alaska

• 1080 AM KUDO Anchorage

Arkansas

• 92.7 FM KASR Conway

Florida

• 1040 AM WHBO Tampa (Excluding games that conflict with Tampa Bay Rays games)
• 770 AM WWCN Estero/Fort Myers (Carries Marlins, Rays, & Red Sox as well)
• 640 AM WMEN West Palm Beach/Boca Raton

Iowa

• 97.7 FM KOTM Ottumwa

Massachusetts

• 1340 AM WBRK Pittsfield
• 1450 AM WHLL Springfield

Nevada

• 920 AM KBAD Las Vegas
• 1460 AM KENO Las Vegas (Spanish)
• 1100 AM KWWN Las Vegas

New Hampshire

• 1270 AM WTSN Dover

North Carolina

• 630 AM WMFD Wilmington

Rhode Island

• 790 AM WPRV Providence

Vermont

• 1450 AM WSNO Barre
• 1450 AM WTSA Brattleboro
• 620 AM WVMT Burlington
• 94.5 FM WDVT Rutland

See also

• List of XM Satellite Radio channels
• List of Sirius Satellite Radio stations

References

1. ^ Wallace, Tim (2011-07-10). Two nations, over the air. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
2. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2011/08/28/2011-08-28_tune_in_to_wfan_for_game_1_today.html
3. ^ Yankees Broadcasters' Biographies
4. ^ Yankees Radio Network Affiliate List

External links

• Official website