Yankee Stadium will be a quieter place without Freddy “Sez” Schuman.
Schuman, who has been known for trying to rally fans by banging on a frying pan with a wooden spoon, died of a heart attack on Sunday, the New York Daily News reports.
Schuman, who was 85 years old, was a staple at Yankees games since 1988. He would greet fans at the turnstiles before games and would walk around the stadium and let fans bang on a frying pan painted with a four-leaf clover to try to work up the crowd during games.
Freddy Sez was so iconic that one of his frying pans is on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. He was, to many people, the unofficial Yankees mascot, and was even featured in a baseball-themed MasterCard commercial.
Yankees players were told of Schuman’s death in the clubhouse on Monday morning.
“I’ve seen him out there all the time. I know he’s been here forever,” Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher told the Daily News. “I definitely send my best wishes to his family.”
