NEW YORK – New York Yankees broadcaster John Sterling was helped Wednesday night by a man playing Spanish radio, Rickie Ricardo, out of his flooded car after Sterling got caught trying to drive home after a match.
Sterling and Ricardo called the New York game to the Los Angeles Angels from Yankee Stadium because the radio crews have not resumed the trip with the team as part of the COVID-19 protocols.
Ricardo told WFAN on Thursday that Sterling, 83, was the first to leave the stadium after the game ended around 10 p.m., while Ricardo later stayed on a Spanish post-match program. .
Ricardo said when he finally left the park, the Yankee Stadium lobby had water up to his ankles and he found several streets closed and flooded as the east coast was hit by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. The storm killed at least 12 people in New York City, including one who drowned in a car and 11 more in basement apartments, police said.
Sterling’s broadcast partner, Suzyn Waldman, called Ricardo while trying to find a route home to New Jersey and told him that Sterling was trapped in his car on River Road in Edgewater, New Jersey, just above the George Washington Bridge.
“I’ve seen the flooding on River Road, in Edgewater, and with the kind of rain we’ve had, I can only imagine,” Ricardo said. “So I said,‘ Suzyn, I’m on my way. I more or less know where he lives. I will find out where he is and see what I can do. “
Ricardo called Sterling and kept him on the phone until he found him in one of about 25 vehicles trapped in a flood that covered the tires of most cars. Ricardo, who is driving a Jeep, stopped behind Sterling’s car and helped him out of the vehicle. He said it took him an hour to find a clear path to Sterling’s apartment about half a mile away, but he finally got to Sterling there safely.
Television broadcaster Michael Kay also said he had trouble returning home Wednesday, in a tweet that he planned to wait for the storm at Fordham University in the Bronx. He also tweeted photos of the outdoor field at Yankee Stadium completely underwater during the game.