John Sterling's Jasson Dominguez home run call is out of this world (actually normal)
While John Sterling's most famous call of 2023 might still be, "Ow!...Ow!", his Jasson Dominguez call could be his most historically notable. Love Sterling or hate him, it soothes a piece of the soul that he was able to remain in the booth long enough to call the 20-year-old Martian's first clout in the Bronx. We're going to cherish that somewhere down the line.
Dominguez was promoted to the Yankees when rosters expanded on Sept. 1 and made an immediate impact, clobbering two homers in his first three games ... on the road. Sterling, 85 years old and still doing the damn thing, doesn't travel much anymore -- and certainly doesn't travel to Houston.
If the phenom with the whip-quick swing and switch-hitting grace was going to get the Sterling Treatment, if he was going to receive his own "A-Bomb" or "The Sayonara Kid" or "Tex Message," he was going to have to hit a blast at Yankee Stadium.
Wednesday evening, without even making people wait around very long, he did just that.
Dominguez broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning with a laser shot to right-center, and perhaps the biggest surprise of all was that Sterling went straight across the bough. No Broadway references. Nobody's "just wild about Harry" anymore. This was a direct translation of "Martian," followed by a '50s television reference that doubles as the way all Yankee fans feel about their new addition right about now. It was a little quirky, a little quintessential Sterling. But he played this one pretty safe. We're just glad it's here at all.
Yankees phenom Jasson Dominguez first home run called by John Sterling
The marketing opportunities? Leave that up to everyone else (feels like Area 161's gonna stick).
Sterling came prepared, but he didn't add extra bombast. When you're given a gift of a nickname like "The Martian," there's no real need to mess around. If the player didn't sell himself (and, boy, he does), the nickname could do job, too.
Luckily, the skills, the name, and the aura all match up. All Sterling needed to do was participate to make the package complete. And, now that the first home blast is out of the way, something tells us this won't be the last time we have a chance to hear Sterling call the future and think about how the '90s can be the '2000s can be the 2020s for even just one moment.