Yankees narrator in Spanish, Ricky Ricardo, saves a fellow English radio broadcaster from a flood

NEW YORK – New York Yankees Hispanic Ricky Ricardo rescued fellow English radio broadcaster John Sterling, who was trapped in his car Wednesday night when it was flooded Wednesday night after stranded while trying to get home.

Sterling and Ricardo worked out the Yankees’ last game on their visit to the Los Angeles Angels from Yankee Stadium because radio crews do not have permission to travel with teams as part of COVID-19 protocols.

On Thursday, Ricciardo told WFAN that Sterling, 83, was the first to leave the field after the game ended at around 10 p.m. EST, while Ricciardo remained for a while on the post-game programme.

When he finally left the park, Ricardo said, the lobby of Yankee Stadium was running water up to his ankles and that he found several streets blocked off and flooded with rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Police said the storm killed at least 12 people in New York, including one who drowned in a car and 11 others in apartment basements.

Susan Waldman, Sterling’s broadcast partner, called Ricardo when he was trying to find a clear path to his home in New Jersey and told him that Stirling was in his car on River Road in Edgewater, New Jersey, over the George Bridge, Washington.

“I saw the road of the river flowing into Edgewater,” Ricardo recounted. “And as it rained, I just imagined what was going on, so I said to Susie, ‘I’m on my way. I know more or less where he lives (Sterling). I’ll see where he is and what I can do.

Ricardo called Sterling and kept on the phone until he found him in one of about 25 cars stuck in the flood, which covered the tires of most cars. Ricciardo, who was driving a jeep, stopped behind Stirling’s car and helped him out. He said it took him about an hour to find a clear path to Stirling’s flat, which was about half a mile (800 metres) away, but in the end, he was able to get him safely.

Michael Kay, who broadcasts Yankees games on television, also mentioned he had trouble getting home Wednesday night in a tweet saying he planned to wait for the storm to pass at Fordham University in the Bronx. During the match, he also posted photos of the entire Yankee Stadium completely underwater.