New York Yankees announcer John Sterling was rescued from Wednesday night’s catastrophic East Coast storm by fellow broadcaster Rickie Ricardo.
Ricardo, the Spanish-language broadcaster, explained Thursday that Sterling got stuck in his flooding car in New Jersey after driving home from work. (Radio crews have not yet resumed traveling with teams amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so both men called the away game against the Los Angeles Angels from the Bronx.)
Talking to WFAN Thursday, Ricardo recounted that he’d stayed behind at the stadium for a Spanish postgame show while Sterling headed to Jersey. By the time Ricardo left the sports complex, water in the lobby was already up to his ankles and, as he was driving home to Jersey himself, his broadcast partner Suzyn Waldman called him to say Sterling was stuck in flooding just over the George Washington Bridge, which connects the neighboring states.
“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, so I said, ‘Suzyn, I’m on my way. I more or less know — I know — where he lives. I’ll figure out where he’s at and see what I can do,’” Ricardo told WFAN.
After dealing with “spotty” cell service, he said he finally found Sterling in his car, got him into his Jeep and spent about an hour looking for a clear path to get his colleague home.
At least 13 people died in New York as a result of Wednesday’s storm, which has been described as the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Watch Ricardo explain his rescue mission — made complicated by power outages and rising waters — below.
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