NEW YORK – Dave Sims stood in front of the visiting dugout at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park two months ago, watching the Yankees take batting practice ahead of a game against the Mariners. His career has been built upon the delivery of words, but at this moment, the veteran broadcaster felt it wasn’t appropriate to say much.

Yes, he acknowledged that he’d heard the rumors mentioning his name in recent weeks, and sure, he would be interested in the Yankees radio play-by-play position if it were offered to him. Then there was this: while Sims loves Seattle, as he repeated several times, New York would always represent home.

Now Sims is on his way back. He has a multiyear agreement to become WFAN’s new play-by-play broadcaster for Yankees games, replacing John Sterling, who retired early in 2024 before returning for the playoffs, the team announced on Thursday. Sims will pair with Suzyn Waldman.

“It’s great to be home,” Sims said in a statement. “What an honor to be part of the iconic Yankees franchise. New York is where it all started for me, and I can’t wait for Opening Day and to work with my good friend Suzyn!”

A Philadelphia native, the 71-year-old Sims has been one of the Mariners’ primary television voices since 2007. He is familiar to sports fans for calling Major League Baseball and college basketball games on ESPN, as well as NCAA basketball and NFL play-by-play on Westwood One.

Sims is a two-time Emmy Award winner who recently won three consecutive Washington Sportscaster of the Year awards (2018-20) from the National Sports Media Association. WFAN was one of his first homes, where he was a midday talk-show host from 1989-93.

Sterling abruptly announced his retirement in April after 5,420 regular season Yankees games and 211 more in the postseason, citing fatigue. Sterling returned to call the final six games of the regular season, then worked through the Yankees’ postseason run to the World Series, saying that he did not plan to return in 2025.

“The radio voice of the Yankees is a storied position in the history of baseball,” said Chris Oliviero, Audacy’s New York market president. “From [Mel] Allen and [Red] Barber to [Phil] Rizzuto to Sterling, the names are synonymous with the pinstripes. Dave Sims is a worthy successor to that lineage. We are honored to have Dave join the incomparable Suzyn Waldman in the booth in the Bronx.”