Inside the mind of a Yankees ‘Bleacher Creature’ with the team on the brink of World Series defeat

The New York Yankees are one loss away from World Series defeat — but fans who have waited 15 years to see the Bronx Bombers compete for a championship are still clinging to hope.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to close out the best-of-seven series at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Tuesday night. And no one is more on edge than the team’s most die-hard fans: the Bleacher Creatures. These superfans typically fill Section 203 of the right-field bleachers, where they’ve popularized their boisterous chanting and rallying style during games.

Among them is Vinny Milano, a self-proclaimed Bleacher Creature and Long Island native, who sells T-shirts outside Billy’s Sports Bar near Yankee Stadium to show his support for the team. He spoke with Gothamist about his love of the Yankees while he manned the store just hours before Tuesday’s game.

Even if the Yankees lose and exit the World Series, Milano says he’ll take it in stride.

“You gotta hit the ball if you want to win ball games,” he said. “They just don’t look very interested or committed, or like they really want to win. It’s pretty tough to get behind it, but real fans cheer — that’s what you do.”

Milano said keeping up with demand from fans eager to buy Yankees memorabilia this year has been hectic. He said his favorite part about being a Bleacher Creature is “the passion, whether you’re in the bleachers or not.”

Milano, who goes by the nickname “Bald Vinny,” said he’s been a Yankees fan “since birth.” His entire family cheers for the Yankees, and he’s already passed down that fervor to his teenage son.

“Most hardcore Yankees fans are like that. My whole family was Yankees fans. I’ve been a fan of the Yankees forever,” he said. “Baseball is a sport like that. It gets passed down through generations.”

For Milano, his excitement over the Yankees’ entry into the World Series is all about his son and young fans who now get to witness World Series baseball.

“It’s super exciting for any fan of any team in any sport to make it to the championship, so I was super excited about that,” Milano said. “For me, it was really more about my son, who’s 14 and really getting into baseball and going to a bunch of games.”

When asked if he would have preferred a Subway Series — the Dodgers bested the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series before advancing to the World Series — Milano didn’t blink at the thought of his crosstown rivals.

“I really don’t think about the Mets,” he said. “I’m a Yankees fan. The Mets don’t really cross my mind.”