As the remnants of Hurricane Ida made their way into the northeast on Wednesday night, New York City received an unusually intense pummeling of torrential rain that led to major flooding. The floods created a dangerous situation for longtime New York Yankees play-by-play announcer John Sterling, who was able to make it through thanks to the aid of a co-worker.
According to a report by the Associated Press, John Sterling was rescued from Wednesday night's flood by Yankees Spanish play-by-play announcer Rickie Ricardo following a broadcast of the Yankees' road game against the Los Angeles Angels. After broadcasting the game from Yankee Stadium (MLB radio crews have yet to resume traveling with their teams due to COVID protocols), Ricardo received a call from fellow broadcaster Suzyn Waldman, who shared that Sterling was stuck in his car on River Road in Edgewater, N.J.
"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," Ricardo told WFAN. "So I said, 'Suzyn, I'm on my way. I more or less know where he lives. I'll figure out where he's at and see what I can do.'"
After contacting Sterling, Ricardo eventually found one of baseball's longest-tenured broadcasters among approximately 25 cars that were stuck on a flooded road. Ricardo pulled up behind Sterling's car to help him to safety, and then spent an hour trying to find a clear path to make the half-mile journey back to Sterling's home.
Like plenty of others in the Bronx, the Yankees were far from spared of Ida's wrath. While the Yankees beat the Angels 4-1 out on the west coast, the outfield of Yankee Stadium wound up flooding to the point of being completely underwater.
