The chants began in earnest during Friday night’s game.
Ze-lous Whee-ler (clap clap, clap clap clap)
Ze-lous Whee-ler (clap clap, clap clap clap)
Ze-lous Whee-ler (clap clap, clap clap clap)
Ignore the commentary in the video above — New York’s YES network announcers oddly mistook the Boston crowd’s chanting ‘Ze-lous Whee-ler’ as some sort of strange, backwards way of celebrating their affection for another Yankees player, Derek Jeter, who is retiring after the conclusion of the season and wasn’t even in the lineup on Friday night.
Clearly, last night was just Night No. 1 of Zelous Wheeler’s weekend-long coming out party. The first game of many in the rabid BOS-NYY rivalry that just never seems to wane. Red Sox fans can be heard clearly enjoying every second of the hefty infielder’s first taste of Fenway.
“I shelled out $300 for a ticket to the game tonight and I was not disappointed,” said Mary Lewis of Dover. “Watching the way this guy moves around on the diamond, his cat-like reflexes, I really hope he’s here for a good long while in the Yankees pinstripes. Here’s to a couple of decades of Zelous Wheeler patrolling the Hot Corner for the Yanks!”
Even Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino is getting swept up in the madness. “You know, quite honestly I thought they were chanting Der-ek Jeee-ter the first few times I heard it go round the grandstands. Then I figured out what was really going on. Now, I can’t stop saying Zelous Wheeler’s name. Zelous Wheeler – I can’t stop watching this guy. I feel like I’m saying Zelous Wheeler’s name alot? Am I saying Zelous Wheeler a lot?”
Fenway Pastoral 