Yankees Roasted On Social Media For Giving John Sterling A TV As Retirement Gift

The New York Yankees held a retirement ceremony for John Sterling at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. But the organization's parting gift to the legendary broadcaster raised some eyebrows.

Sterling announced his retirement earlier this week after 36 years as the radio voice of the Yankees. The 85-year-old cited health concerns as a reason for stepping away from the booth.

So before the Yanks' Saturday game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Sterling took the field with his family to be honored by the organization. He received video messages from former Yankees greats Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill, and, of course, the team presented him with gifts.

So what does a multi-billion-dollar organization get for an icon who lent his voice to its storied organization for decades? An LG TV, apparently.

In fairness, Sterling's retirement announcement came as a surprise, so the Yankees didn't have a ton of time to come up with a gift. But it just feels like they could have done better.

Fans on social media thought so, too.

But Sterling seemed to be just fine with the gesture.

"How lucky can you be," Sterling said, "for people to celebrate what you do for a living?"

Sterling entered the Yankees' radio booth in 1989 after nine years broadcasting Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks games. His tenure in the Bronx saw 24 postseasons and seven World Series. He narrated the Yankees' dominant run in the '90s, the final game at the old Yankee Stadium, Jeter's 3,000th hit and Aaron Judge's 62nd home run — among other historic moments. But he said Saturday's celebration will always stand out to him.

"I never, ever dreamt that I'd be recognized," Sterling said. "I told my boss earlier this might be the biggest day of my life — outside of marrying Jennifer, of course."

In addition to the 83-inch TV, the Yankees also gifted Sterling a jersey with the number 5631 — the total number of Yankees games he called on the radio.