Bleacher Creatures - Chants and Songs - Roll Call

Roll Call

The Creatures' most famous and long-standing chant is known as the roll call. In the top of the first inning, when the Yankees are on the field and their starting pitcher is getting ready to throw the first pitch, everyone in the section stands and begins clapping. After the pitch is thrown, Creature "Bald" Vinny Milano gestures for the crowd to calm down, then cups his hands around his mouth and shouts out the name of the center fielder (e.g.: "Yo, Curtis!", for Curtis Granderson). The whole group proceeds to chant the name until there is a response, usually in the form of a wave or a point; some Yankees respond with extra enthusiasm, such as Johnny Damon (who typically dropped to one knee and pointed at the Creatures with both hands) and Nick Swisher (who comes to attention, faces the Creatures, and salutes). The Creatures move through the lineup, going from the center fielder to the left fielder, right fielder, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop and third baseman, in that order. (With the exception of a few rare instances, the pitcher and the catcher are not a part of the roll call.) Anti-obscenity laws were exercised in 2007, but are not always strictly enforced; if they are able, the Creatures will turn to the right field box seats at the completion of the Roll Call and chant "Box seats suck!" During the days of the bleachers' no-alcohol-sales policy, fans in the right-field box seats occasionally replied with a chant of "We've got beer!" If the Yankees are playing the Red Sox, the intensity of the Yankees – Red Sox rivalry takes hold; the Creatures then cut the 'box seats' chant short and instead chant "Boston sucks!" until that dissipates. If police cut this short, the Creatures resort to chanting "No fun allowed!", or nothing at all. If a non-pitcher is replaced in a defensive position, the replacement is given the same chant. Sometimes, after a long rain delay, the Creatures will start another Roll Call just for fun. Also, until the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, the Creatures would chant "1918!" and hold up signs saying "CURSE OF THE BAMBINO!" and pictures of Babe Ruth to remind the Red Sox of the last time they won a championship.

Former Yankee third baseman Scott Brosius was notorious for not responding immediately to the roll call, as other players on the diamond would. Sometimes he would even wait as long as a minute to respond, getting a kick out of the persistence of the Creatures. In Hideki Matsui's first game at the Stadium in 2003, the chant of "MAT-SU-I!" went on for approximately two minutes, because he did not know what was going on or how to react. In a 2009 press conference, former Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi said that "The biggest thing I miss is (the Bleacher Creatures') roll call. There's no doubt about it, it's the best thing in baseball."