NY1's "News All Day" is celebrating Women's History Month with "Women Wednesday," where anchor Ruschell Boone will speak with some modern trailblazers about their careers. Yankees color commentator Suzyn Waldman was the third woman in Major League Baseball history to serve as a full-time color commentator on a regular basis. She has worked in sports reporting for over 30 years and is largely considered a pioneer for women in sports broadcasting.
Q: We know it wasn't easy for you to get here. We know the journey was hard. But what was it like for you getting to the booth?
Suzyn Waldman, Yankees Radio Broadcaster: Well, it was an accident. And I'm a little jealous of all you guys now that there's kind of a path there, you can do what you want. Back then it was like I had a machete and having to change direction at every point. And it was never my goal to get to the booth. My goal was to contribute to this game. And when I found out that they didn't want women around, I had to change the goal. I had to find ways to make myself palatable to people and to convince people that I had something to contribute. And that's what kept me going. It's not like I had a goal and went toward it. Because there were never women. I never saw anybody in the booth like me. And the other people got a chance they got 20 games or 30 games, and then they'd be gone. But I took a kind of circuitous route. And it wasn't easy, as you said, and there was no support. And I think the hardest thing is that I was by myself all the time.
Q: You're a mentor to a lot of people. How have you seen the industry change?
Waldman: Well, there's a lot of things that have changed. And I think it's because you know, the saying that they have now if you can see it, you can be it. There was never anything to see, when I was starting in this, it was just me. But what I know now is a lot of the young women who are in this business heard me as a little child, heard me in their car with their parents, driving in the tri state area. "My mom used to listen to you all the time," so they never thought anything of hearing a woman's voice. And I think that's what has to happen. I can name you six or seven young women who are in the minor leagues now and they're really good. And they don't know that they can't do this, because nobody ever told them. Because maybe there I was, sitting in the booth. But that's the difference now. And that's what I see. I see them in the minor leagues. I also see women in baseball itself. And I think that's because the game has changed and it's no longer you have to be this old, crusty guy who played baseball in order to do it. No. Analytics has changed that. If you're running numbers, what's the difference? Whether you're male or female.
Q: What did you do before sports reporting?
Waldman: I was on Broadway. I was an actress for years. I came to New York years and years ago, to be an actress and I did Broadway musicals and nightclubs for years. Then I was getting a little older and Broadway changed. And I had to find something else to do with my life and the only thing that I knew was sports. And I said, "Well, let's try this." And I got more than I bargained for. But it's worked out. I'm where I'm supposed to be.
Q: In honor Women's History Month, we're asking what does it mean to you to "fight like a girl"?
Waldman: A saying I heard over 30 years ago, it means that you do everything you can to get where you want. You don't take no for an answer. You do everything in your power to win, even if it doesn't look so good.