BRONX, NY – It’s been a while since I watched a game from the bleachers at Yankee Stadium. The view is horrendous, but the atmosphere is as real as it gets. To get a pulse of the true Yankees fan one needs to watch a game from the bleachers. The only audience that compares to the fans in the bleachers are the patrons at the Apollo Theatre up in Harlem on Amateur Night.
My friend Luis “Squeegee” Castillo, who is a true “Bleacher Creature,” shocked me to no end when I asked him how much bleacher prices are these days. His response of fifty bucks blew through me like a 100 mph fastball. I couldn’t believe he would pay that much to watch a game over 400 feet away from home plate. Not only him, but anybody.
Most of the fans who frequent the bleachers are neighborhood folks who bleed Yankee Blue. To hear that the “Queen Bleacher Creature,” Tina Lewis and the legends “Bald Vinny” and “Squeegee” actually pay fifty bucks to conduct the famed “Roll Call” chant is mind-boggling. The Yankees hierarchy who have final approval of these insane ticket prices should be ashamed of themselves.
It was back in 2016 when Yankees COO Lonn Trost referred to the undesired ones, who make their way into the Legends Seats through an affordable StubHub price, as the Riff-Raff. Trost had a problem with the Riff-Raff sitting among the High Society, who can afford the $2,500 legends seats.
I guess the Riff-Raff are flooded into the bleacher section, where they spread their love for the Yankees and hate for the opponents. From 450 feet away they are heard loud and clear, and they will let you know if you messed up. Just ask Nick Swisher! They even got acknowledged by Paul O’Neill when his number 21 was retired.
Mr. Trost doesn’t want the Riff-Raff around the elite but he has no problem having them way in the outfield, where they can view the players from their backsides while he counts the fifty dollars that each of them dished out.
As for the N.Y. Yankees franchise to charge a fifty dollar entry fee to sit in the bleachers for each of the eighty one home games, a justifiable Bronx Salute is in order for this ultimate slap to the heartbeat of its fan base.
