SECTION: SPORTS, Pg. 13

LENGTH: 794 words

HEADLINE: BOOMER FEVER BLEACHER CREATURES WELCOME PLANNED FOR BLUE JAYS' WELLS

BYLINE: MIKE ZEISBERGER, TORONTO SUN

DATELINE: NEW YORK

BODY:


If your mouthwash doesn't come out of a Budweiser can, you are not welcome in Section 37 of Yankee Stadium.

It is here, in the right-field stands, that is home to the famed Bleacher Creatures.

The stench of stale beer is omnipresent. There are more punches thrown here than on the set of The Jerry Springer Show. When a young boy is spotted looking down from the upper deck some 150 feet above, loud chants of "Jump, Jump!" begin. No wonder David Wells love these guys. And no wonder they love him.

"Just look at the way he looks, the way his gut hangs out like that," Bleacher Creature Milton Ousland of Brooklyn said. "He's a regular Yankee, a regular guy. You felt you were out there with him when he pitched."

Tonight, when Wells makes his ballyhooed return to the Yankee Stadium mound for the first time since being traded to the Blue Jays, nowhere will the moment be more appreciated than in the bleachers, where the Creatures plan to greet him the best way they know how.

They have a tradition in the first inning of yelling out roll call -- chanting the names of all the Yankee starters on the field. During his stint in pinstripes, Wells was the only New York pitcher who regularly acknowledged them.

"Even though he's in Toronto now, he'll get roll call again," Ted Ketcham of Long Island said.

"If they give me the chant, I'll give them the thumbs up," Wells said this week. "I would sit with them in a heartbeat, drinking beer and yelling crap. They're in their own little world. I love it."

While the National Hockey League playoffs dominate the Toronto sports scene these days, the Big Apple is caught up in Boomer Fever. The stories in the New York dailies about Wells' return even overshadowed reports of Roger Clemens' 17th consecutive victory Wednesday night, a feat which tied an American League record.

The front page of yesterday's Newark Star-Ledger sports section featured a huge cartoon of a chunky Wells walking into the Yankee clubhouse carrying a pizza box, a half-guzzled six pack and the words "Sweet Revenge" tattooed on his arm. The accompanying headline blared "HE'S BA-ACK!"

Even the police can't wait to see Boomer again.

Deep inside the bowels of Yankee Stadium, out toward the left-field corner, are holding cells where police haul any rowdies who have been too, ah, enthusiastic. On days he wasn't pitching, Wells was a frequent visitor there.

"It was one of his favourite places," said Yankees starter David Cone, one of Wells' best friends. "If there was ever a fight in the stands or some arrests made, Boomer would go there to check out the action."

Said Wells: "I would stop at the police room and scream at the drunks in the cage. The cops would get a kick out of it."

Wells forged many good friendships with those police on duty. Officer Pete Pisacano recalled times when Wells threw batting practice to several officers in the indoor cage until midnight, long after most people had left the stadium.

"We miss him," Pisacano said. "He had no chip on his shoulder. A bunch of us would go out for a few beers, and he would invite a couple of us if he was going downtown."

Inside the Yankees clubhouse, Wells' former teammates can't wait to see him.

"It is probably as big a night as there could be during the regular season, for him," Cone said. "He has been waiting for this night since the first day of the trade."

Wells was dealt to Toronto Feb. 18 along with Graeme Lloyd and Homer Bush in exchange for Clemens.

"He didn't change for anyone," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "The tattoos, the heavy metal ... the fans liked that. I think he's going to get a huge ovation."

One thing that isn't missed by many Yankees is Wells' habit of cranking up the hard rock tunes on game days.

"He'll probably be playing that stuff in the other clubhouse," Jeter said. " I really didn't like that music."

Wells, whose night life escapades are legendary around Manhattan, will duck some of the weekend hoopla by escaping to Dorrians, his favourite watering hole on the upper east side. A photo behind the bar shows Cone, Lloyd and Wells with bar manager Keith Zlomsowitch celebrating at Dorrians several hours after Wells tossed his perfect game May 17.

Wells has been looking forward to this weekend with the eagerness of a child waiting to tear open presents on Christmas morning. He pitches tonight. He is expected to receive his 1998 World Series ring from the Yankees tomorrow. Sunday, he'll be on hand when a Joe DiMaggio monument will be unveiled at Yankee Stadium.

"If I was bionic, I would pitch every game there," Wells said this week. " The best two years of my life were in that park, that city.

This time, he'll have to settle for one memorable weekend.

GRAPHIC: photo from AP file DELIVERING ... Tonight David Wells will make his first start in Yankee Stadium since being traded to the Blue Jays earlier this year.

LOAD-DATE: April 23, 1999