Suzyn Waldman
Encyclopedia
Suzyn Waldman is a sportscaster
and former Broadway actress. Starting with the 2005 season, she has been the color commentator
for New York Yankees
baseball
, working with John Sterling
on radio broadcasts for WCBS-AM
in New York City
. She graduated from Simmons College
with a degree in Economics.
. Her rendition of "There Used To Be a Ballpark" appeared on the 1995 WMHT-TV documentary Local Heroes: Baseball on Capital Region Diamonds. Also, she has performed the National Anthem
at many Yankee home games.
history to serve as a full-time color commentator on a regular basis. (Betty Caywood
of the Kansas City Athletics
served as a color commentator for a year in the 1960s, and Mary Shane
served as a play-by-play announcer for the Chicago White Sox
in 1977.) In the mid-1990s, she was a play-by-play announcer for the Yankees' local TV broadcasts on WPIX
, which made her the second woman to serve that role for a major league team. (Gayle Gardner
was the first to do so in 1993 for the Colorado Rockies
.)
She has worked in sports reporting for more than 20 years, as a former broadcaster for the YES Network
as the reporter on the New York Yankees Pre-Game Show and the New York Yankees Post-Game Show and New York sports radio station WFAN
. Her voice—on a live sports update—was the first heard on WFAN when it premiered on 1050 AM at 3:00 PM on July 1, 1987 (it moved to 660 AM a year later). At WFAN, she covered both the Yankees and the New York Knicks
basketball
teams and co-hosted the daily mid-day sports talk show.
In 2007, she and Sterling signed contract extensions to continue as the Yankees' radio team through at least the 2011 season.
outfielder
George Bell wasn’t talking to the New York media, thinking they had cost him the Most Valuable Player
award the year earlier. He broke his silence after a win at Yankee Stadium
, and expectedly the regular beat writers hurriedly gathered around his locker. New on the beat (women had just recently been allowed access to the locker room), Waldman joined the group; Bell immediately started screaming at her in Spanish and English.
“There was a deathly silence. I think the other writers were shocked, but I also think they still resented me more than a bit, and they certainly didn't want to lose this interview,” she recalled on a radio show. “At the time I was a little less tough than I am now. Tears welled up in my eyes and I said I better get out of there.”
As she hastily gathered her tape recorder and notebook, she heard Bell’s fellow outfielder, Jesse Barfield
, ask a fellow writer, "What's her name?" When told, he then called out to her: “Suzyn, I went three for four today. Don’t you want to ask me any questions?”
Waldman and Barfield, now a baseball announcer himself, became fast friends and have remained very close since.
sent the GM to fire Berra, which greatly angered Berra because in all his other times being fired, the owner personally made the move. Yogi vowed not to visit Yankee Stadium and not to participate in any Yankee function as long as George Steinbrenner was still the owner of the Yankees. In 1999, Suzyn Waldman brokered a meeting between the two men that brought an end to the 14-year feud. Yogi's grand return was on Opening Day for the 1999 season, a day also designated as "Joe DiMaggio Day." During the 1999 season, Steinbrenner declared a Yogi Berra Day to honor him, to the thrill of Yankee fans everywhere. On that day, Don Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitch to Berra, and David Cone pitched a perfect game against the Montreal Expos. Yogi was showered with gifts from the Yankees, including a trip to visit the Pope.
, Waldman was voted the worst commentator in New York by the fans.
New York Daily News
columnist Bob Raissman has given Waldman the derisive nickname "Georgie Girl", an allusion to her close relationship with Steinbrenner (and a play on the title of the 1960s hit song "Georgy Girl
").
WFAN-AM hosts Chris "Mad Dog" Russo
and Mike Francesa
have poked fun at her over-the-top reaction to the Roger Clemens
signing in which she exclaimed "Roger Clemens is in George's box, and Roger Clemens is coming back. Oh, my good goodness gracious! Of all the dramatic things I've ever seen. Roger Clemens standing right in George Steinbrenner's box announcing he is back. Roger Clemens is a New York Yankee." Suzyn eventually confronted the duo in a long expletive-laced tirade, in which she expressed her obvious embarrassment of the situation. After the conversation, Mike and Chris vowed never to play the clip again, only to play it repeatedly later on in the evening. The clip is also played to mocking effect on Boston sports radio WEEI
and for comedy on Boomer and Carton in the Morning
, The Opie & Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show, The Jim Rome Show
, and ESPN Radio
's The Herd with Colin Cowherd
.
Waldman was roundly criticized for her breakdown on the air following the Yankees' 2007 Divisional Series
loss to Cleveland
. She openly cried on the air for WCBS 880 AM while reporting about the morose atmosphere in the Yankees clubhouse on the post-game show. Waldman made reference to her emotional nature, the sight of fellow coaches in deep emotion, and their collective realization that Joe Torre's
tenure as manager was likely at an end as reasons for her tears. In response to the incident, Waldman stated:
. She eventually sued Mount Sinai Hospital
and two of its pathologists for misdiagnosing her as being cancer-free, winning over $2 million in damages from the case. While her chemotherapy
regimen limited (and eventually ended) her day-to-day role of broadcasting Yankees games on TV, she continued in her role at WFAN throughout her illness (now long in remission).
Sportscaster
In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...
and former Broadway actress. Starting with the 2005 season, she has been the color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
for New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, working with John Sterling
John Sterling (sportscaster)
John Sterling is an American sportscaster best known as the radio play-by-play announcer of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. He has announced every Yankees game since .-Early life:...
on radio broadcasts for WCBS-AM
WCBS (AM)
WCBS , often referred to as "WCBS Newsradio 880" , is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of the CBS Radio Network...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She graduated from Simmons College
Simmons College (Massachusetts)
Simmons College, established in 1899, is a private women's undergraduate college and private co-educational graduate school in Boston, Massachusetts.-History:Simmons was founded in 1899 with a bequest by John Simmons a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Boston...
with a degree in Economics.
Early career
Prior to her broadcasting career, Waldman worked for many years as an actress and singer in musical theatre. Her most notable role was as Aldonza in Man of La ManchaMan of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
. Her rendition of "There Used To Be a Ballpark" appeared on the 1995 WMHT-TV documentary Local Heroes: Baseball on Capital Region Diamonds. Also, she has performed the National Anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
at many Yankee home games.
Broadcasting career
Waldman is noted for her early achievements in the male-dominated field of sports broadcasting. She is the third woman in Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
history to serve as a full-time color commentator on a regular basis. (Betty Caywood
Betty Caywood
Betty Caywood is an American sportscaster. She was one of the first female Major League Baseball broadcasters, providing color commentary on radio broadcasts for the Kansas City Athletics in September, 1964....
of the Kansas City Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
served as a color commentator for a year in the 1960s, and Mary Shane
Mary Shane
Mary Shane was a pioneer in American sportscasting by becoming the first full-time female play by play broadcaster for a Major League Baseball team in 1977....
served as a play-by-play announcer for the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
in 1977.) In the mid-1990s, she was a play-by-play announcer for the Yankees' local TV broadcasts on WPIX
WPIX
WPIX, channel 11, is a television station in New York City built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WPIX also serves as the flagship station of The CW Television Network...
, which made her the second woman to serve that role for a major league team. (Gayle Gardner
Gayle Gardner
Gayle Gardner is an American sportscaster who has worked for ESPN and NBC Sports beginning in 1987 until 1993.-Biography:Gardner got her first job as a sportscaster because she hired herself. She got her second job as a sportscaster because a guy died...
was the first to do so in 1993 for the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
.)
She has worked in sports reporting for more than 20 years, as a former broadcaster for the YES Network
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
as the reporter on the New York Yankees Pre-Game Show and the New York Yankees Post-Game Show and New York sports radio station WFAN
WFAN
WFAN , also known as "Sports Radio 66" or "The FAN", is a radio station in New York City. The station broadcasts on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio...
. Her voice—on a live sports update—was the first heard on WFAN when it premiered on 1050 AM at 3:00 PM on July 1, 1987 (it moved to 660 AM a year later). At WFAN, she covered both the Yankees and the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams and co-hosted the daily mid-day sports talk show.
In 2007, she and Sterling signed contract extensions to continue as the Yankees' radio team through at least the 2011 season.
George Bell/Jesse Barfield controversy
At the start of the 1987 baseball season, Toronto Blue JaysToronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
George Bell wasn’t talking to the New York media, thinking they had cost him the Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
award the year earlier. He broke his silence after a win at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, and expectedly the regular beat writers hurriedly gathered around his locker. New on the beat (women had just recently been allowed access to the locker room), Waldman joined the group; Bell immediately started screaming at her in Spanish and English.
“There was a deathly silence. I think the other writers were shocked, but I also think they still resented me more than a bit, and they certainly didn't want to lose this interview,” she recalled on a radio show. “At the time I was a little less tough than I am now. Tears welled up in my eyes and I said I better get out of there.”
As she hastily gathered her tape recorder and notebook, she heard Bell’s fellow outfielder, Jesse Barfield
Jesse Barfield
Jesse Lee Barfield is a former Major League Baseball right fielder who played for the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees . He batted and threw right-handed. He lived in Tenafly, a suburb of New York City.Barfield was well known for his powerful, accurate throwing arm...
, ask a fellow writer, "What's her name?" When told, he then called out to her: “Suzyn, I went three for four today. Don’t you want to ask me any questions?”
Waldman and Barfield, now a baseball announcer himself, became fast friends and have remained very close since.
Yogi Berra/George Steinbrenner feud
In 1985, Yankees owner George SteinbrennerGeorge Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
sent the GM to fire Berra, which greatly angered Berra because in all his other times being fired, the owner personally made the move. Yogi vowed not to visit Yankee Stadium and not to participate in any Yankee function as long as George Steinbrenner was still the owner of the Yankees. In 1999, Suzyn Waldman brokered a meeting between the two men that brought an end to the 14-year feud. Yogi's grand return was on Opening Day for the 1999 season, a day also designated as "Joe DiMaggio Day." During the 1999 season, Steinbrenner declared a Yogi Berra Day to honor him, to the thrill of Yankee fans everywhere. On that day, Don Larsen threw the ceremonial first pitch to Berra, and David Cone pitched a perfect game against the Montreal Expos. Yogi was showered with gifts from the Yankees, including a trip to visit the Pope.
Criticism
In an online poll by NewsdayNewsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, Waldman was voted the worst commentator in New York by the fans.
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
columnist Bob Raissman has given Waldman the derisive nickname "Georgie Girl", an allusion to her close relationship with Steinbrenner (and a play on the title of the 1960s hit song "Georgy Girl
Georgy Girl (song)
"Georgy Girl", written by Tom Springfield and Jim Dale , is the title song performed by The Seekers for the the film of the same name. Across late 1966 and early 1967, the song became a #1 Australian hit and a #3 UK hit...
").
WFAN-AM hosts Chris "Mad Dog" Russo
Chris Russo
Christopher Michael Russo , known as the "Mad Dog," is an American sports radio personality who is best known as the former co-host of the widely popular Mike and the Mad Dog sports radio show with Mike Francesa, which was broadcast on WFAN in New York City and simulcast on the YES Network...
and Mike Francesa
Mike Francesa
Michael Patrick "Mike" Francesa, Jr. is an American radio talk show host and television commentator. He is primarily known in his former role co-hosting the popular Mike and the Mad Dog show on WFAN in New York City...
have poked fun at her over-the-top reaction to the Roger Clemens
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens , nicknamed "Rocket", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who broke into the league with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he would help anchor for 12 years. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher. He played for four different teams over...
signing in which she exclaimed "Roger Clemens is in George's box, and Roger Clemens is coming back. Oh, my good goodness gracious! Of all the dramatic things I've ever seen. Roger Clemens standing right in George Steinbrenner's box announcing he is back. Roger Clemens is a New York Yankee." Suzyn eventually confronted the duo in a long expletive-laced tirade, in which she expressed her obvious embarrassment of the situation. After the conversation, Mike and Chris vowed never to play the clip again, only to play it repeatedly later on in the evening. The clip is also played to mocking effect on Boston sports radio WEEI
WEEI
WEEI is a sports radio station in Boston, Massachusetts, that broadcasts on 850 kHz from a transmitter in Needham, Massachusetts, and is owned by Entercom Communications. The station is one of the top-rated sports talk radio stations in the nation. Studios are located in Brighton, Massachusetts...
and for comedy on Boomer and Carton in the Morning
Boomer and Carton in the Morning
Boomer and Carton in the Morning is a morning drive sports radio program on WFAN in New York City. The hosts of the radio program are former NFL quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, Boomer Esiason and former Jersey Guy Craig Carton.The show debuted on...
, The Opie & Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show, The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. The show is produced in Los Angeles, California, syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, and can be heard on more than 200 affiliate radio stations in the U.S...
, and ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
's The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a sports talk radio show hosted by Colin Cowherd and broadcast on ESPN Radio from Bristol, Connecticut. The show is heard Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. ET until 1 p.m. ET on most ESPN Radio stations and is simulcasted on ESPNews...
.
Waldman was roundly criticized for her breakdown on the air following the Yankees' 2007 Divisional Series
2007 American League Division Series
-Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees:-Game 1, October 3:Fenway Park in Boston, MassachusettsIn Game 1, Boston starter Josh Beckett threw a complete-game shut out, allowing the Red Sox to win the opener...
loss to Cleveland
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. She openly cried on the air for WCBS 880 AM while reporting about the morose atmosphere in the Yankees clubhouse on the post-game show. Waldman made reference to her emotional nature, the sight of fellow coaches in deep emotion, and their collective realization that Joe Torre's
Joe Torre
Joseph Paul Torre is a former American professional baseball player and manager who currently serves as Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations. A nine-time All-Star, he played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, first baseman and a third baseman for the...
tenure as manager was likely at an end as reasons for her tears. In response to the incident, Waldman stated:
Breast cancer
In 1996, she was diagnosed with breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. She eventually sued Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
and two of its pathologists for misdiagnosing her as being cancer-free, winning over $2 million in damages from the case. While her chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
regimen limited (and eventually ended) her day-to-day role of broadcasting Yankees games on TV, she continued in her role at WFAN throughout her illness (now long in remission).