Ken Singleton postpones retirement, returning to Yankees’ TV booth in 2019

Final details are being worked out on a one-year contract that will keep Ken Singleton in the Yankees’ television booth in 2019, which will be Singleton’s 23rd season broadcasting Yankees games. Singleton calls games on YES Network with Michael Kay.

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CHICAGO — Ken Singleton has been on the receiving end of many pleas to reconsider retiring since announcing last March that 2018 would be his final season in the Yankees‘ television booth.

His response to family, friends, fans and colleagues has been standard:

He wants to spend more time with his three young grandchildren and play more golf.

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But when Singleton’s wife recently reminded him how much he still loved calling games for the YES Network, he thought about it and came up with a compromise to delay retirement.

Singleton has decided to return for a 23rd season in 2019 on a reduced work schedule, NJ Advance Media has learned.

We’ve also learned that YES and the Yankees are all for the popular Singleton returning regardless of how many games he calls.

Singleton, 71, worked the Yankees’ 7-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night, but would not comment because his agent and YES are still working on final details to a new one-year contract.

Singleton will drop from 55 games this season to about 24 in 2019. He plans to work two of the Yankees’ three road trips to Baltimore and Tampa Bay – he has homes in both places – plus work a couple series in New York and pick one other road trip.

After ending his 15-year career as a big leaguer in 1984, the three-time All-Star outfielder went right into broadcasting the next year as both a sports commentator for WJZ-TV in Baltimore and color commentator for the Toronto Blue Jays.

After calling Jays’ games for two seasons, Singleton became a play-by-play and color man on radio for the Montreal Expos in 1987, and he kept that position through 1996 when jumping the Yankees.

He’s been with the Yankees since 1997 doing play-by-play and color on TV, often with Michael Kay as his broadcast partner.

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.