Brendan Burke to Call Bronx Bombers Games

From the rink to the diamond? That’s the transition New York Islanders broadcaster Brendan Burke will be making as he will fill in for New York Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling in early July on WFAN.

The news was announced on WFAN’s Carton and Roberts show Thursday evening.

For those that do not know, Brendan Burke’s father, Don Burke, was a Yankees beat writer and Burke’s love for broadcasting came from his experiences with his father at Yankee Stadium. He spoke to Craig Carton and Evan Roberts for a couple of minutes after the news was announced:

.@brendanmburke joined us to discuss the news that he will be filling in for John Sterling for 5 upcoming road games.

pic.twitter.com/DUPqgPz59f

— Carton & Roberts (@CartonRoberts) June 16, 2022

Burke will be behind the Yankees radio mic starting on July 1, when the Yankees are in Cleveland for a three-game set. Then it’s onto Pittsburgh, as the Pirates host the Yankees for a two-game starting July 5.

Per Christian Arnold,  the Islanders play-by-play man was at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday to sit in with TBS’ baseball broadcasting crew.

According to New York Islanders statistician Eric Hornick, Brendan Burke becomes the seventh Islanders broadcaster to call Yankees games: Sterling, Brendan joins Dom Valentino, Spencer Ross, Steve Albert, Jiggs, and Howie Rose.

Yes, John Sterling called Islanders games in the mid-70s.

There is usually little to no time during a course of a hockey game to tell stories. But with baseball, whether it be on television or the radio, broadcasters have air time to fill. So the New York Islanders faithful, Yankees fans or not, should tune in as there will likely be stories shared that Burke has not shared on air before.

Brendan Burke has quickly become one of the best broadcasters in the hockey industry. Besides New York Islanders broadcasts, his voice can be heard on Turner Sports during hockey season, whether it be on TNT or TBS, during the regular season and the playoffs.

But his first role as a broadcaster after graduating from Ithaca College was with the Batavia Muckdogs of the New York Penn League and the Lakewood BlueClaws of the South Atlantic League before earning transitioning to hockey with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. And as the saying goes, “the rest is history.”

You can listen to Brendan Burke and all Yankees baseball games on WFAN by turning the radio dial to 101.9 FM, 660 AM.