Dave Sims returns ‘home’ to New York as the new voice of the Yankees
The New York Yankees’ play-by-play radio announcer replaced John Sterling, who held the role for 36 years.
Joshua Heron
March 27, 2025
Broomsticks and a half-cut rubber ball were the only required materials for halfball. From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, a school-aged Dave Sims gathered with his uncles throughout the summer to play the street-style baseball-inspired game.
For Sims, playing halfball on the narrow Woodstock Street in North Philadelphia where his grandma lived was the closest thing to professional baseball at the time.
Roughly six decades later, the 72-year-old sits in what St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster Mike Claiborne calls the "penthouse" of baseball as the New York Yankees' new play-by-play radio announcer.
Sims will make his Yankees regular-season radio debut on Thursday when New York hosts the Milwaukee Brewers on Opening Day. Sims replaces legendary broadcaster John Sterling, who was the 'Voice of the Yankees’ for 36 years on New York's WFAN, the team's local radio home. Before his new role, Sims was the Seattle Mariners' TV announcer for 18 seasons.
Though his hiring was announced in mid-November, reality didn't hit Sims until Feb. 20. Sims took the New York City subway to Yankees stadium to film a short promotional video. As the production team set up the radio booth, Sims went a few rooms over to warm up his voice.
That's when it hit him. He was home. He was covering the Yankees.
"I was looking around at the stadium and said, 'Holy Mackerel, this is my home stadium. This is my home office now. Yankee Stadium.’"
This is Sims' second round in New York. He began his career as a sports writer for the New York Daily News before transitioning to radio, where he hosted WNBC's "SportsNight." Eventually, he co-hosted the WFAN midday show with Ed Coleman from 1989 to 1993. He also was a weekend sports anchor at WCBS and a host for the New York Knicks radio broadcasts.
Although a Philadelphia native, Sims considers himself a New Yorker. He returned to his New York City home each offseason while with the Mariners. Sims’ son, Jarett, would often send his father pictures of New York throughout his first eight years in Seattle. Jarett believes his connection to the city will make him thrive in his new role.
"My dad is New York, through and through,” Jarett said. “I don't think that the Yankees would have chosen him if not for the fact he's New York. It's in his bones.
"If you need an electrician or somebody to hook your kid up with something, you got a guy. That's a New York thing as far as mixing it up with people. My dad is always super networked, a man of the street. He's one to mix it up and have a lot of fun, and I think that comes through in the broadcast in a different way."
Yankee fans can expect an energetic presence on the radio. Sims said listeners will hear his passion for the game and it will be clear that he wants the Yankees to succeed.
Former Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski has been friends with Sims for about 50 years. The two met when Sims was a young reporter at the Daily News and Krzyzweski was coaching at Army. Krzyzewski has no doubt Yankee fans will resonate with Sims.
"Since I've known him going back to the 1970s, he has been trustworthy, personable and professional," Krzyzewski told The Flame. "He's a tremendous broadcaster who paints amazing pictures for his listeners. Yankees fans will not only hear, but they will feel Dave's broadcasts. It will be incredible."
When Sims applied for the Mariners job in 2006, he asked Krzyzewski to be a recommendation contact. The five-time NCAA Division I champion spent about 15 minutes on a call with former Mariners president Chuck Armstrong advocating on Sims' behalf.
"We received well over 100 applicants and narrowed those down,” Armstrong said. “What really attracted us to Dave was that he was a journalist and saw storylines in which some of the others did not have experience. He was really good and adept at that."
Sims always prioritized stories over stats. Therefore, before he delivers his famous "Hey Now!" catchphrase from the booth, Sims, in his classic Kangol hat, will go to the Yankees clubhouse to gather insight from players and coaches that resonate with fans.
"They're humans. They're not automatons," Sims said. "They have ups and downs in their lives. Wives, kids, girlfriends... and baseball is such a mentally tough sport. It’s a certain breed of cat that can play this game at that world-class level and be successful. I admire baseball players."
Yankee players and fans can trust Sims to handle information with integrity.
"He always handled sensitive information with professionalism while still doing his job of providing accurate information," Krzyzewski said. "Not once did I hesitate to share anything with Dave because I knew whatever came out would be the truth."
Sims knows every broadcast won't be perfect. During spring training coverage, Sims admitted that he said "Mariners" about four times instead of "Yankees." He has learned the importance of not getting caught up in New York's fast pace and slowing down his delivery. Sims gives himself grace, however, claiming that "nobody in broadcasting pitches a perfect game every time" and believes his drive will make him "learn and move forward."
Sims credits his parents for his persistence. His mother, Barbara Sims, survived open heart surgery in 1962, nine years after the first procedure of its kind happened at the Jefferson Medical College Hospital in Philadelphia. He praised his mom for still raising him and his brother with great care even after the operation.
His dad, Ulysses "Pop" Sims, worked at a post office, where he worked himself up from mail clerk to general foreman. Despite many nights without sufficient sleep, Pop still made it to most of Sims' baseball and football games while he attended Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia.
Sims' family is also the main contributor to his love for sports. His grandmother grew up a huge baseball fan, and he remembers watching his father play in a post office summer softball league. He recalled watching iconic sports figures like former Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown and NBA Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain when they came to Philadelphia. By the time he was 7 years old, Sims could name the entire Philadelphia Phillies lineup.
Through his exposure to sports, he also grew familiar with broadcasters like Richie Ashburn, who became the Phillies' radio and TV commentator in 1963. Sims said Ashburn was the first man he saw wearing a hat while broadcasting, inspiring him to wear his Kangol hat in the booth.
Then came Bill White. His impact on Sims went beyond a fashion accessory.
In 1971, White became the first black play-by-play announcer in the MLB. White's role with the Yankees gave Sims confidence that he could succeed in the media industry.
Now, his name is synonymous with his role model. Now, Sims sits in the "penthouse" that White built as the second African-American broadcaster in Yankees history.
Sims is one of three Black play-by-play broadcasters in the MLB, along with Robert Ford (Houston Astros) and John Schriffen (Chicago White Sox).
"I know that guys are looking at me saying, 'Hey, if he can do it, I can do it. There is a spot for a Black guy to do this kind of stuff,’” Sims said.
Sims said he is "eternally grateful" to the Mariners for giving him a chance at his first full-time baseball broadcasting role. Sims is aware that his career is nearing its end but doesn't overlook the magnitude of this final chapter.
"I'm at the back end of my career, and that's a good way to go out,” he said. “When I was growing up, the Yankees from 1947 to 1964 were in nearly every World Series. So I remember when I would hear the Gillette theme song ("Gathering Crowds"), Mel Allen was always the voice of the Yankees. Now I'm in the same, maybe not the same sentence or paragraph, but I'm on the same page with him listed as one of the Yankee broadcasters. I think that's pretty cool."
Photo Credits:
(Ben VanHouten/Seattle Mariners)
(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Graphic Credits: Jala Price