Michael Kay Returns to Radio Booth for Yankees Wild Card Series

Michael Kay, the familiar voice of the New York Yankees on television, is set to return to the radio booth to call the team's upcoming American League Wild Card Series on ESPN Radio. This marks Kay's first time broadcasting a Yankees postseason game on the radio in 25 years.

Kay had not been able to call a Yankees playoff game since transitioning to television with the launch of the YES Network in 2002, as national broadcasters hold exclusive television rights during the playoffs. ESPN's vice president of digital & audio production, Justin Craig, reached out to Kay to gauge his interest in calling the national radio broadcast.

"I said, ‘Yeah, I’d love it. It’d be great,’" Kay told The Post. "Worked it out with YES where I’m still going to do their pre- and post-game show on the field at the stadium. That’s important to me as well, and then just get an opportunity to do [radio]. … I’m really looking forward to it."

From 1992 to 2001, Kay spent a decade as part of the Yankees' radio broadcast team, working alongside the late broadcasting legend John Sterling. Sterling passed away earlier this year at the age of 87. Tuesday's Wild Card game will be the first time Kay calls a Yankees broadcast on the radio since Sterling's passing.

"It will be a little melancholy because when I think of radio, I always think of John, and we became great friends," Kay stated. "I thought that combination for those 10 years really worked and we got a chance to call five World Series, and four of them winners. So it was a great time. So maybe I’ll just try to think about the good things and things like that."

He added, "Obviously, I’m close with [WFAN broadcasters Suzyn Waldman and Dave Sims] as well, and I don’t look at this as a competition or anything like that, but it’ll be odd doing a Yankee game without John Sterling sitting next to me."

Kay is scheduled to call the game with Eduardo Pérez and Tim Kurkjian. The national broadcast will be available on 880 ESPN in the New York market.

Should the Yankees advance past the Wild Card round, Kay will continue to provide pre- and post-game coverage for the YES Network but will not be part of the national broadcast for subsequent playoff games.

Reflecting on the nature of play-by-play broadcasting, Kay recalled Sterling's approach. "I always tell people this about John, [he] was a guy who very clearly wanted the Yankees to win, but if you listen to the last call of Luis Gonzalez’s base hit [in 2001], he called it like right down the middle. With the same excitement as if it was a Yankee doing a walk-off in the seventh game of the World Series," Kay explained. "I think that’s your responsibility. That’s the way I look at it. I love baseball, and obviously, I have a 35-year connection doing the Yankee games on radio and TV. But I get criticized a lot from some Yankee fans because I they say I get too excited for big moments for the other team, but I get excited for big moments in baseball."

Kay affirmed that while he hopes for a Yankees victory, he would call a significant play by an opposing team, such as a home run by the Red Sox, with genuine excitement, ensuring fairness to any listener. "So let’s say they face the Red Sox…Red Sox hit a big home run, I’m gonna get excited. I’m going to give it the same call for a Red Sox fan that might be listening. It wouldn’t be fair to them."