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Yankees Announcer Avoids Danger Following Cam Schlittler Joke

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 10:55 AM ET

There’s a certain fun involved when sports announcers get their chance at name-related puns, as the likes of Chris Berman and John Sterling will proudly attest to.

However, Berman and Sterling typically opted for safer options, whether it was Berman’s “Andre ‘Bad Moon’ Rison” call on “SportsCenter” or Sterling yelling “The Melk Man delivers!” when Melky Cabrera mashed a home run. New York Yankees announcer Ryan Ruocco went the slightly riskier route this past weekend, and he’s lucky that he escaped unscathed.

If you haven’t paid much attention to the Yankees lately, you’ve likely missed rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler’s sudden emergence. The 24-year-old Schlittler dominated the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night, striking out eight in six innings of four-hit, one-run ball.

Although the Yankees needed 11 innings to secure the 5-3 victory, Schlittler nonetheless improved his ERA to 2.61 through nine starts — and, as he walked off the mound following the sixth, presented Ruocco with the opportunity to do his best Berman impression.

“More quality Schlitt from Cam,” Ruocco quipped.

"More quality Schlitt from Cam." -@RyanRuocco pic.twitter.com/yR7d3F4R03
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 31, 2025

Ryan Ruocco dodged a major problem with his Cam Schlittler joke

To be clear, we personally enjoyed Ruocco’s play on words, which should speak for itself —and we promise that isn’t a pun. Not only was his line smart enough to bring a smile to one’s face, but Ruocco avoided using another word, one that would have made the joke fall flat and created an awkward environment for both him and the listener.

Ruocco is extremely lucky that he got the joke off without a hitch, though. Remember, Ruocco made the comment going into a commercial, meaning he either would have needed to catch himself on the fly or potentially apologize in the seventh.

In fact, Ruocco accidentally got Schlittler’s name wrong in the 11th inning, a mistake he immediately caught and acknowledged.

“It was bound to happen one time,” Ruocco joked.

We don’t imagine that Ruocco would have been disciplined had he misspoke in the sixth inning. At the same time, it’s a good thing he got the joke right that time and in that context.

Considering how well Schlittler has pitched over the last month, it’s hard to imagine the Yankees leaving him off their postseason roster. We wish every playoff announcer luck in getting his name right, especially if they try to follow Ruocco and get creative.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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