There are broadcasters, and then there are legends. John Sterling was the latter—and if you needed any proof, you only had to listen to Yankees icon Alex Rodriguez reflect on his impact.

When WFAN's Craig Carton and Chris McMonigle invited Rodriguez to share his thoughts on Sterling's passing, what followed was a heartfelt tribute from a ballplayer who understood that Sterling's voice wasn't just for the fans—it was the soundtrack Yankees players cherished too.

Rodriguez explained that in the biggest moments, you wanted Sterling on the call. "I mean, I remember 'Bern baby Bern.' 'Cano, don't you know?' And of course, 'A-bomb by A(-Rod)'—it was such a big deal. It really crystallizes a great moment and stamps it in time," Rodriguez said Thursday, via YouTube. "You can go back a decade, two decades, and share the John Sterling home run call or 'the Yankees win, the Yankees win.'"

But perhaps the most telling moment came when Carton brought up how David Ortiz—the Red Sox legend known as "Big Papi"—mimicked Sterling's signature call on a national Fox broadcast by declaring "Yankees lose, Yankees lose." The anecdote stopped Rodriguez in his tracks, underscoring how Sterling's reach extended even to rival icons.

"Unanimously, I would say that everyone loves and revered John Sterling," Rodriguez said.

For generations of Yankees fans, Sterling gave a voice to their greatest memories. On Thursday, Rodriguez made it clear that Sterling deserved a place alongside the legends he spent decades calling—a fitting tribute to a man whose voice became synonymous with the game itself.