Paul O’Neill seemingly has no idea what Baba Booey means

New York Yankees fans who are stuck watching a boring team, play a boring game, on a boring broadcast, can thank Howard Stern for a boost of entertainment Thursday afternoon.

With the Yankees trailing the Washington Nationals 5-3 in the top of the eighth inning on Thursday, a group of fans teamed up to fire off an unmistakable “Baba Booey,” which bled right into the broadcast on YES Network. Play-by-play voice Michael Kay knew exactly what Babe Booey meant, but apparently analyst Paul O’Neill isn’t a Stern fan.

“Did you hear that, Michael?” O’Neill asked, seemingly confused by the yelling fans.

“Howard Stern fans! Count me amongst them!” Kay said with excitement before O’Neill asked him to confirm what the Yankees fans were yelling. “Baba Booey, that’s what they say on Howard Stern. Gary Dell’Abate.”

“Baba Booey?” O’Neill asked again. “Alright.”

For decades, Stern fans have been yelling “Baba Booey” in hopes of getting it to land on a sports or news broadcast as an ode to the King of all Media and his long-time prodcer Gary Dell’Abate. And after a sort of “Baba Booey” lull in recent times, this was the second one in days. Last Saturday, “Baba Booey, Baba Booey, Howard Stern’s Penis,” infiltrated the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason broadcast on WFLA in Florida. Play-by-play voice Chris Myers glossed over “Babe Booey” in the Jets-Bucs game, but Kay relished the opportunity to talk about Stern on Thursday.

Who can blame Kay? The Yankees are terrible this year. They’re out of playoff contention and appear destined to finish the season with their first losing record since 1992. Kay is annoyed, as seen by him airing his frustrations about the Yankees baserunning gaffes earlier in the game. Fans are ticked, as proved by their “Fire Cashman” chants at the stadium. And broadcasters are bored, as admitted by Yankees radio voice Suzyn Waldman earlier this week. But a simple Baba Booey was able to briefly fix all of it.

“Every time I’ve ever come near Howard Stern in a public setting, I can’t even speak with him. I can’t bring myself to talk to him,” Kay said before calling Stern a “brilliant radio broadcaster. And he doesn’t know me from Adam.”

Thanks Howard, Baba Booey, and a couple of thoughtful fans for making the Yankees exciting again, at least for a couple of minutes.

[YES, via Talkin’ Yanks]