FanHouse Bleacher Creatures

At Yankee Stadium -- maybe you've heard of it? -- the Bleacher Creatures have a tradition. (They probably have many traditions; this is merely one of them.) They chant each player's name in the first inning, and that player turns and waves, thanking the fans for their tireless support. Guh Yahankeeees! And so on.

Last night, an inopportune liner was hit at Melky Cabrera, and he couldn't decided whether to field the ball or wave at the Creatures. As the above video shows, he chose ... poorly.

(HT: Rob Neyer)

Bleacher Bums is MLB FanHouse's look at those oh so fun fan adventures.

You may or not be familiar with the "Bleacher Creatures" of Yankee Stadium. According to Wikipedia, they sit in section 39 of Yankee Stadium (out in the bleachers, of course) and, for the most part, do a bit of a roll call for all the position players minus the battery after the first pitch is thrown in the first inning, amidst a few other coordinated hoot and hollers.

They're also usually led by some cat named Bald Vinny -- that name just screams New Yawk, eh? (You can catch video of Bald Vinny leading the roll call here.)

In any case, here's Bald Vinny and his gang giving it to the Blue Jays during spring training in 2001. (Warning: there's a little bit of naughty language in the clip.) It doesn't get real good till just after the 2:00 mark when the players start barking back.

Ah, nothing like a good heckle fest.

During the All-Star break a couple of years back, Bleacher Creatures took some time out to ask some players some fluffy questions (Be sure to fast forward through the first 30 seconds) ...



Apparently, NHLers really like Britney Spears (why?!?!), and are clearly out of their element when it comes to answering non-hockey questions that they don't have a cliche prepared for.

While some hockey fans would sniff their noses at such questions, it's nice to hear something different than the usual "How do you feel coming to your third All-Star game?" query.

Jerome Iginla? He's the exception, and handles the fluffy lobs with the deftness of a Kristian Huselius pass on the Power Play. Meanwhile, Todd Bertuzzi looks like he's about to recreate the Steve Moore incident.