I’ve been listening to Suzyn Waldman and John Sterling on WFAN radio this year while I watch Yankees games on television. (The announcers they’re trying out in the YES network booth are wretched! Give me Michael Kay, David Cone and Paul O’Neill for every game!) Why didn’t I tune in to the radio broadcasts years ago? I love the pair’s insights into the game.
This week, Suzyn Waldman was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. She has been a sports broadcaster (both television and radio) for 36 years and the Yankees color commentator for the last 18 years. In her career, she has covered both the Yankees and the New York Knicks, among other gigs.
Let’s talk about her firsts. Hers was the first voice heard on WFAN when it premiered in 1987, the first all-sports radio network. She was also the first woman to become a full-time broadcaster for a Major League Baseball team.
Suzyn is more than aware of the role she has played as a female “first.”
“When we talk about women in baseball, and beyond that, one of the most important concepts, to me, is representation. If you can see it, you can be it,” she said. “Representation makes the trailblazers, the ‘firsts,’ even more important.”*
The silent treatment
Yet a career like Suzyn’s in sports broadcasting would have been unimaginable prior to Title IX. In fact, it wasn’t until 1984 that the first female sports broadcaster was hired. That year, Lesley Visser began her sports broadcasting career as an NFL sideline reporter.
Even post-Title IX, Suzyn has had to fight for her place in broadcasting. The male-dominated sports world didn’t let her in without a struggle. She says that for her entire first season with the Yankees, no one in the press box spoke to her.
“It was strange to realize that half the world thinks you’re an idiot because you’re female,” she said. “I never realized that. I grew up, I did whatever I wanted. I didn’t know I was an idiot. It was startling to realize that people didn’t want you there because you’re a female.”**
And getting the cold shoulder wasn’t the worst she had to endure.
“I got feces and used condoms in the mail, terrible things,” she recalled. “In 1989, I had a police detail at the stadium because someone was trying to kill me. There’s lots that went on that I will never tell anyone.”***
When Suzyn reflects on the changes that have come about in the three-plus decades of her career, she says one things stands out to her as progress.
“I was alone, I was totally alone. Women like me, we had to make it work on our own,” she said. “If I didn’t handle it, then they’d say, ‘We’ll get someone who can.’ Nobody helped me. Today, younger women have help. You all have people that support you.” †
Kudos from the industry
Her induction into the Hall of Fame was lauded by everyone in the industry.
“We applaud the well-deserved recognition, particularly for Suzyn’s trailblazing leadership that has been an example to so many fans and women working in our game,” a WFAN spokesperson said. ††
“This accomplishment is the deserved result of decades of hard work and dedication to her craft, and we would be remiss to not laud her professionalism and resolve while staring down countless obstacles as a pioneering woman in her field,” the Yankee organization said.†††
At 75 years old, Suzyn is still going strong. I say — may she be the voice of the Yankees for many years to come. I’ll be listening!
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* Sarah Langs, “A discussion with trailblazer Suzyn Waldman,” MLB.com (March 19, 2021).
** Lauren Gardner, “Suzyn Waldman on her career,” MLB Tonight (March 30, 2021). Video interview.
*** Dylan Svoboda, “Trailblazer Waldman elected to Radio Hall of Fame,” MLB.com (July 25, 2022).
† Gardner, “Suzyn Waldman.” (The asterisks were getting out of hand.)
†† Lou DiPietro, “Yankees, MLB release statements on Suzyn Waldman’s induction into Radio Hall of Fame” WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM (July 25, 2022).
††† Svoboda, “Trailblazer Waldman.”