Major League Baseball

Yankee Stadium beerman suspended

Published Oct. 2, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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A famed longtime beerman at Yankee Stadium was suspended for sharing a laugh with an archrival Boston Red Sox player, the New York Post reported Sunday.

Steve Lazarus, who works as a stand-up comedian when he is not slinging suds in the bleachers, was getting ready for the nightcap of last Sunday's double-header when he had the exchange with Bosox relief pitcher Alfredo Aceves.

The vendor was standing with co-workers near a freight elevator on the terrace level when he heard the sound of cleats. "I think we all looked over," he said. "It's rare that we hear [players] come by now."

So the Bronx native and lifelong Yankee fan decided to have a little fun with Aceves, a former Bronx Bomber. He walked over and playfully called out, "Hey, you got ID?"

Without missing a beat, Aceves grabbed his crotch and shot back, "I got your ID right here."

Everyone roared with laughter, except for the team suits.

Lazarus, 53, who has been hawking beers since he was 19, was summoned by a supervisor during the game.

"He said, 'You were harassing the opposing team's player.' I said, 'Are you kidding?'" Lazarus recounted.

After an investigation, the beerman was benched Thursday for the first two games -- lucrative sellouts -- of the American League Division Series.

"They take my badge -- this is only my 35th year, by the way -- and they escort me out like a common criminal," he said. "To suspend me, when I did nothing?"

The beerman is foaming at the mouth over his treatment. "The vendor is always wrong," he fumed. "I'm so fed up."

Lazarus, who wrote the book "The Pope and Me at Yankee Stadium," said that he frequently donates the proceeds of book sales or performs his stand-up to benefit charities that are associated with the Yankees.

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