Diehard Yankees fans can’t imagine Juan Soto being gone: “Why would you want to leave this behind?”

NEW YORK – Juan Soto waited. Then he waited some more. After Gerrit Cole went through his excitement and threw a pitch, Soto turned and saluted the Bleacher Creatures, who had shouted his name for 15 seconds during the “Roll Call,” which has become a tradition at the start of every game at Yankee Stadium.

Soto didn’t know it, but he had just confirmed the suspicion of 53-year-old Brooklyn native and New York Yankees superfan Milton Ousland, known as “The Cowbell Man.”

Has Ousland, who has been ringing his cowbell in the Bronx since 1996, gotten the impression that Soto actually loves interacting with Yankees fans in right field?

“The impression?” said Ousland, leaning over a metal railing in section 203. “He loves it 100 percent. I know that for sure.”

Why?

“When we do the roll call,” Ousland said, “he milks it.”

It might have been just another day at the office for Soto, where he had three hits on Saturday night, including a double in the Yankees’ 6-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

All season long, Soto was showered with love by the Yankee Stadium crowd as he put up career numbers, including a personal best 41 home runs. Since the All-Star break, that has included the constant chant of “Re-sign Soto” — a reminder to owner Hal Steinbrenner that they don’t care how much money he has to spend to keep the star slugger, whose free agency is talking about the low season.

But Soto said Saturday felt a little different.

“It was incredible,” Soto said of the reception he received. “They’re getting loud. They really surprised me today.”

Here was Juan Soto’s first playoff Roll Call.

It seemed like he was taking it in a little. pic.twitter.com/hRgIk4Pprx

— Brendan Kuty 🧟‍♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) October 7, 2024

For the Bleacher Creatures, they just hope that when Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, weigh offers this offseason that could reach $500 million, the love they’ve shown him tips the balance in the Yankees’ favor.

Even if it’s just the tiniest bit.

“Of course we want him back,” says Marc Chapin, the official leader of the ‘Roll Call’ since 2006.

Chapin, a Manhattan resident, wore a small camera on the brim of his Yankees cap as he led Saturday’s “Roll Call.” He has had season tickets since 1999, when the Yankees played in the old stadium.

He is convinced that Soto loves the Bleacher Creatures as they love him.

“We love player interaction,” he said. ‘These guys are very hyped. They love the ‘Roll Call’. We love the ‘Roll Call.’ Clearly, he is one of the best hitters in baseball. He loves it here, you can see that.”

Nanette Simmons is from Brooklyn and recently overcame stage 3 breast cancer. She has been going to Yankees games for more than two decades and was among the thousands who chanted “Re-sign Soto” as the 25-year-old jogged to right field before the first inning on Saturday.

“It sounds great,” Simmons said of the idea of ​​Soto staying for the rest of his career.

Still, Simmons was skeptical.

“I would really like him to stay and I hope he stays and doesn’t have to worry about such a long contract,” she said.

Simmons wasn’t the only skeptic. Joe Lopez, also a Bleacher Creature, has been coming to games since 1987. Lopez said he believed Soto loves Yankees fans, but that wasn’t the only thing he loves.

“He loves this,” Lopez said, rubbing his thumb and index finger together to indicate dollars. “It’s all about the money.”

Lopez was referring to the Yankees’ latest high-profile pursuit: Aaron Judge.

Judge was drafted by the Yankees in 2013 and became the face of the franchise when he hit an American League-best 52 home runs as a rookie. The Yankees even created a seating area for him in right field called “The Judge’s Chambers.” But Judge became a free agent after the 2022 season and he flirted hard with the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres before finally getting Steinbrenner to agree to a deal worth $360 million.

“We saw it two years ago with the Judge thing,” Lopez said. “It will be the same. Are they willing to provide the money to pay him?

So far, the Yankees certainly appear to be among Soto’s most serious suitors.

Steinbrenner said on a YES Network podcast in May that he wants Soto to “stay in pinstripes for the rest of his career,” and The Athletics exclusively reported that Steinbrenner and Soto met privately for the first time at Yankee Stadium in July.

However, Soto is reluctant to give hints about what he thinks.

When fans chant “Re-sign Soto” – sometimes multiple times in one game – he acknowledges them with a slight nod or a wave of his glove. When asked what he and Steinbrenner talked about during their meeting, he declined to provide details. He said it was “good to get to know the owner” and that Steinbrenner “really cares about his players.”

The “Re-sign Soto” chants have broken out in Wrigley pic.twitter.com/cVept4v7Vm

— ItsJustCC 🇩🇴🇨🇴 (@YoItsJustCC) September 6, 2024

In the week leading up to the ALDS, the topic of Soto’s impending free agency came up several times. Each time, Soto said it wasn’t on his mind, but a few weeks ago, after hitting a home run in Seattle to give him one home run in all 30 active Major League stadiums, he brought up free agency without being asked.

“What a great way to hit free agency with all 30 ballparks on my list checked,” he told reporters at the time.

At that point, it was hard to tell whether the impression the fans at Yankee Stadium had left a lasting mark on him, or whether he would be okay with simply relegating them to his memory, much like the fans who made him worshiped with the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Fathers.

Ousland, “The Cowbell Guy,” had his own pitch for Soto.

“It’s the biggest franchise in sports,” Ousland said. ‘We have enough money. We have the biggest fans in sports. The atmosphere cannot be matched. Why would you want to leave this behind?

“I don’t want to disrespect the (New York) Mets. If he wants to play for the Mets or another team for a little more money… I don’t see that happening. I have every confidence that he will come back. I think he likes playing with Judge. Look at his numbers. It’s no coincidence that he’s having the best year of his career throwing for Judge and pitchers are throwing to him. Why would he want to leave that behind?”

Ouland stopped. He had another thought.

“If he scores in the playoffs,” he said, “they better sign him.”

(Photo of Juan Soto acknowledging fans at Yankee Stadium: Luke Hales/Getty Images)