New York Yankees fans took control of Fenway Park for their weekend series against the Boston Red Sox, with the biggest indignity for Boston fans coming during Sunday night’s game.
During ESPN’s broadcast of the game, viewers could very clearly hear Yankee fans staging their traditional “roll call” of players during the bottom of the first inning. The practice is usually staged in the Yankee Stadium bleachers, with fans chanting for each Yankee defensive player aside from the pitcher and catcher until they receive some sort of acknowledgement.
Yankees fans did roll call at Fenway tonight 🍿 pic.twitter.com/Y7ifrUMHiT
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 16, 2024
Amazingly, Red Sox fans either didn’t notice or didn’t care, as no real effort was made to drown out the chants.
The Yankees fans here at Fenway are pulling off a rare road roll call. They've gotten around to pretty much everyone without getting drowned out.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) June 16, 2024
If this was loud enough to be caught on the broadcast at Fenway, it is a reflection of just how many Yankee fans infiltrated Boston for the weekend series. This was not limited to Sunday, either. It happened all weekend, as evidenced by the loud cheers for Juan Soto’s home run during Saturday’s game.
Soto sends one out 💪 pic.twitter.com/KA3HMznzA3
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 16, 2024
ESPN’s Buster Olney even addressed the Yankee fan takeover on the air during Sunday’s broadcast. He said the issue was evidence of the “disconnect” between Red Sox fans and the organization, with a number of Boston fans growing increasingly disenchanted in recent years with what they see as the franchise’s lack of ambition. Owner John Henry’s attitude toward them probably has not helped either. The Yankees also entered Sunday’s game 13 games ahead of the Red Sox in the standings, which would certainly be a contributing factor as well.
The Yankees were on the other end of this a few weeks ago. This will certainly help make up for it.
