SCHool Magazine Features

Note: This interview was conducted in December 2025

A versatile standout at Chestnut Hill Academy, Dave Sims was the first Black student-athlete to play three varsity sports (football, basketball, and baseball), earning multiple honors, including two Outstanding Baseball Player awards. This foundation paved the way for a legendary broadcasting career; a two-time Emmy winner, Sims has called games for the NFL, NCAA Final Four, and MLB. After an amazing 18-season run with the Seattle Mariners, he moved to the booth for the New York Yankees, serving as its primary play-by-play announcer. Catch him on the radio!

You’ve been with the Yankees for over a year now. Tell us a little about that transition.
This was my first year with the Yankees, after 18 seasons in Seattle. And you know, the mystique, the aura, the legacy, the history of the Yankees, it’s certainly not lost on me by any stretch of imagination. I don’t revel in it, but it’s just a different mindset and a different vibe when you tell people, “I’m with the Yankees.”

How do you break into that tradition?
I gotta tell you, baseball’s still baseball, just different uniforms, and it’s the same game that I’ve done for the last 18 years, a game that I’ve played here. So just call the game, you know, do your homework, be ready, and have fun. Former play-by-play announcer John Sterling is a legend with the Yankees and has a voice known by so many New Yorkers.

What’s your style when calling?
I do it totally differently from John, having played and been around it for so long. John, by his own admission, calls it an act. And, you know, that’s entertainment. I think I entertain by telling little anecdotes and describing what happens for radio. The fans can’t see what’s going on, so you have to accurately describe what’s going on. I knew that growing up here in Philly, listening to the guys here back when I was a kid. Marty Glickman, who was a great New York sportscaster and my sports rabbi, I was under his tutelage for a couple of years. It really reinforced everything I knew and took it to another level. TV’s different. You’re doing captions, and you have more time to be glib and whatnot. On radio, you don’t have time. My producer engineer in Seattle became a good friend. He said, “Don’t miss a pitch on radio. You cannot miss a pitch. You can’t go, ‘Oh, it’s 1-0, oh, it’s 3 and 2, 2-1,’” you can’t do that.”

Do you have a favorite moment or play you’ve called? I think most people have seen the viral video when you were with the Mariners. Was that a favorite?
Cal Raleigh got us into the playoffs in 2022, and 2021, the year before, Mitch Haniger got a big base hit, 9th inning, 2-run single, giving us the lead against the Angels. We went on to win that game, and then the next day, we lost and didn’t make the playoffs. The Cal Raleigh one got us into the playoffs, hitting a home run to beat Oakland, 2-1. The reason there’s video on that is that we hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2001. We got a new guy from Long Island, who had been with the Mets, who was in charge of social media, and he says, “Let’s document this. You know, it’s a big moment for people in the Pacific Northwest.”

You grew up in Philly, worked in Seattle for 18 years, and now you work for the Yankees and live in New York. So, big question: Are you a Mariners, Yankees, or Phillies fan?
Yankees all the way. Once the Yankees got eliminated, I was rooting for the Mariners. I was as disappointed as you guys were when the Phillies lost. The Yankees come to Philly, I think it’s late. It’s the start of a long road trip, three games here, then we go to Chicago for a week to play the White Sox and the Cubs. Believe me, I’ll be rooting for the Yankees. It’s funny, a lot of guys were asking me, you know, when the Phillies came to New York, a lot of my classmates, who I stay in touch with, say, “Do you have mixed emotions?” I said, “No, I want the Yankees!” Now, if you’re talking Eagles, I used to have a hard time with that when I was doing NFL on national radio. A friend of mine would say, “You do a little bit extra when the Eagles do something.” Sometimes it’s hard to stay down the middle.

You’re in town for “For the Love of the Game,” SCH’s baseball event honoring Coach Mike Brown and raising money for our baseball field. Why do you return, and why is this school important to you?
Well, it’s part of my life. The one that I did miss is when they put me in the Hall of Fame in 2006, and I had a game I couldn’t miss. It was probably football. My oldest son and my wife came down and accepted on my behalf. And now it’s 19 years later, and I think I should’ve been there. I got great memories here. I mean, this was pretty audacious on my parents’ part. I think I was the first Black student-athlete here at the school, 1967, that’s now, how many years ago is that? That’s 58 years ago. I don’t think about it much, but I did do that. Somebody had to be the first.