John Sterling was ‘hurt’ by Michael Kay taking Yankees TV job

Credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Michael Kay and John Sterling had a strong friendship up until the end, but their relationship wasn’t devoid of tension.

Kay joined the New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman on their podcast, The Show, this week to honor Sterling, his former broadcast partner, who passed away Monday morning. For ten years, Kay and Sterling shared the Yankees radio booth. But it was always Sterling who was known as the voice of the Yankees.

During his appearance on The Show, Kay was asked whether he ever felt slighted by being cast in a supporting role alongside Sterling, who was already the broadcast’s star.

“No, not at all,” Kay insisted. “When I got the YES Network gig after ten years with John, something that I never sought. When they started the YES Network, I never thought, ‘Oh, here’s my chance.’ Never even gave it a second thought that I would be chosen to be the head play-by-play guy. And that was one of the few times that John and I had a difficult time. John was really hurt that I left to go to YES.”

Kay attempted to smooth over any issues with Sterling by insisting he never would have left the radio booth if the Yankees didn’t decide to launch YES.

“I would have been very content being John’s sidekick for 30 years. I really would have been,” Kay explained. “There wasn’t an ego about it. I just felt I was so fortunate to be in that position as the second guy. It didn’t come to that; I never felt that way at all. You bringing it up is the first time I even thought about it. I never thought this was less of a job; it was an important job.”

Kay made it clear how much Sterling meant to him during an emotional eulogy on his ESPN New York radio show earlier in the week. And maybe he was content being Sterling’s sidekick for the 10 years they were on the radio together. But Kay would have been crazy to pass up the chance to become the TV voice of the Yankees to continue calling three innings a game alongside Sterling on the radio. Even Sterling would have had to recognize that in time.