John Sterling delivers classic call as Yankees secure first spot in World Series since 2009

John Sterling had plenty of iconic moments to call in the Yankees’ victory in Game 5 of the ALCS on Saturday, and for the final out — which secured their first World Series berth since 2009 — in the 10th inning, the legendary play-by-play broadcaster turned to one of his staples.“Ballgame over, American League Championship Series over,” Sterling began after Juan Soto caught the final out in right field.“Yankees win.

Theeeeeee Yankees win.“And the Yankees are going nuts on the field.It’s a group hug, like the end of the ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show.’ It’s a group hug, and they jump up and down.

Terrific.Terrific.”He used a similar call at the end of the ALDS — minus the 1970s sitcom reference — after the Yankees eliminated the Royals and secured a spot against Cleveland for a chance at the pennant.Sterling ended his final call Saturday night by referencing the Yankees’ seven wins in nine games this postseason and their upcoming World Series against either the Dodgers or the Mets.Earlier in the game, Sterling also had two iconic home runs to call, with Giancarlo Stanton hitting his fourth homer of the series — and fifth of the postseason — to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth inning.Then, after the Yankees put two runners on base against Hunter Gaddis in the 10th inning, Soto worked a lengthy at-bat, fouling off pitches and forcing Gaddis to keep delivering, before crushing a ball over the centerfield fence to give them a 5-2 lead.Three outs later, Sterling was able to cap the ALCS with one final call, as Lane Thomas flew out to right, Soto collected the ball and the Yankees’ celebration began.Sterling called Yankees games for 36 years before retiring in April, but he un-retired near the end of the regular season for one final postseason run — agreeing to call both home and road games, returning to the WFAN airwaves where he’d earned the title as the voice of the Yankees, using the final series of the regular season as a tune-up...