A respected New York journalist asked me earlier this week about how I thought Dave Sims and Suzyn Waldman were doing.
The reason he asked me was because he knew I was a big fan of the Yankees broadcasters of yesteryear. He knew I had a special relationship with Bill White who not only was the first black announcer in Yankee history but also a very respected announcer in his own right.
Frank Messer was a pros pro in every way and then there was the scooter Phil Rizzuto. Phil broke every rule in broadcasting . I don’t think there was ever going to be a Rizzuto school of broadcasting however there didn’t need to be because the Scooter was great anyway. Four decades later and now we have the very professional Dave Sims replacing another Yankee broadcasting legend in John Sterling.
What some people don’t realize is that Dave Sims was a broadcasting legend in Seattle with the Mariners. He was beloved by Mariners fans in a very big way. This was after making his mark as a broadcasting journalist in New York. Dave was raised in New York and actually never gave up his home here. It’s almost as if he was always waiting for this great opportunity to open up. Let’s not forget that at one point or another, we all want to be a Yankee. The mystic is sometimes overwhelming.
Suzyn Waldman and Dave have been friends for years. They know each other like a book. Susyn was a George Steinbrenner protege. The Boss didn’t hire her because historically she would be the first female Yankee broadcaster, but because he had no doubt that she was going to be great. The Boss was right.
The great young radio personality from the FAN Keith McPherson just finished spending time with this dynamic duo during a game and when I asked him for a review he said that they are literally like having an in-game encyclopedia during the game.
Keith said that it’s a thing of beauty when you listen to the two of them broadcast a game. A fan in New York mentioned that during the game Dave was caught up in a play and instead of saying the Yankees, Dave said the Mariners. I asked Keith about that and he said that just like the players this is also spring training for the announcers too. Bill White told me that was going to happen because it’s a muscle memory thing.
I have great respect for Keith McPherson because even though he is devoted to the Yankees brand he is however more dedicated to their fans so when he tells me that this will be an outstanding broadcast team it excites me to the point where I will be sitting in my car longer than I thought I would just because I’m gonna want to be listening to the Yankees new broadcast team. Keith’s review of Suzyn and Dave is enough for me however the review that I’m getting from the thousands of readers on NYC Tastemakers is exciting me even more.
