Last night, during the New York Yankees‘ game against the Toronto Blue Jays that ended up with a 6-4 victory for the latter, play-by-play man John Sterling had a hilarious, yet frustrating blunder.
In a late-inning situation and down two runs, Giancarlo Stanton stepped to the plate for the Yankees, and a home run would tie the game.
Stanton hit a screaming, towering shot to left field that looked gone off the bat.
Sterling certainly thought so, as he said: “IT IS HIGH! IT IS FAR!! IT IS GONE!! … but caught.”
“IT IS HIGH! IT IS FAR!! IT IS GONE!!
… but caught”
What a call from Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling 🤣🤣🤣
(via @JSterlingCalls) pic.twitter.com/EoumTXiFDi
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) April 14, 2022
Of course, Yankees fans were frustrated, as they thought Stanton had tied the game.
To be fair with Sterling, it really looked like the ball was out of the park, and most of the people present at Yankee Stadium thought so, too.
A Powerful Blast
When Stanton swung at Trevor Richards‘ 92.6 mph four-seam fastball, it left the bat at 100.5 mph, with a launch angle of 27 degrees.
It was a 370 ft flyout, but according to MLB Barrel Alert (which uses Statcast data), it had an expected batting average of .700.
Stanton tattooed the ball, it just happened to find a glove.
Bad luck: it happens.
Sterling will likely have to hear about the missed home run call for a while, especially after hearing what he said.
He declared the ball gone… “but caught”.
More than anger, Yankees fans, after a few hours of digesting the facts, are probably finding the moment funny.
The fact remains that Toronto hung on to beat the Yankees at home, thanks to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.‘s historic night at the plate.
He hit three homers and a double, and even Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole tipped his cap to him.
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