File this under one of the more head-scratching, disturbing decisions made by the New York Yankees before Major League Baseball ultimately stepped in.
The two fans who interfered with Mookie Betts during Game 4 of the 2024 World Series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night told ESPN that they would be allowed back into the venue for Wednesday night’s Game 5 — a notion that was still on until roughly six hours before first pitch when the league stepped in and banned the two.
Per ESPN’s Jesse Rodgers, the Yankees were on the same page as MLB, though there was no known intent to ban them until the league’s involvement was revealed.
Gleyber Torres led off Game 4 with a fly ball down the right field line that meandered into foul territory but was still playable for the Dodgers’ outfielder. Betts leaped at the side wall and made the catch with his glove encroaching into the seats.
That was when season-ticket holders Austin Capobianco and his friend, John Peter, grabbed Betts — Capobianco got both hands on the outfielder’s glove and began trying to pry it open while Peter held his wrist. All the while, Betts awkwardly flailed in an attempt to show right-field umpire Mark Carlson that he had indeed caught the ball.
Carlson nailed the call immediately, calling Torres out on fan interference.
The awkward nature of the encounter could have led to a significant injury. Betts’ forearm was being held halfway over the wall with downward pressure initially being applied in the wrong direction away from his body.
After Betts wrenched himself away and Carlson made the right call, the pair of ignoramuses attempted to argue that the Dodger had violated their space in some way as though trying to justify the lunacy of their actions. ESPN did catch up with them and picked up some ridiculous quotes as they attempted to romanticize their own actions — a feeble attempt for nobodies to insert themselves into a game they obsess over.
What they did was wrong and dangerous and cannot be spun any other way. Yet the duo divulged that Yankee Stadium security gave them the green light to return to the building on Wednesday night for Game 5.
Betts downplayed it after the game: “When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter… we lost. It’s irrelevant. I’m fine. He’s fine. Everything’s cool.”
Obviously, things would not have been fine if Betts had come out of that incident not fine. A slap on the wrist only to be welcomed back into the very same stadium sets a dangerous precedent that will suggest fans can interfere or even try to harm players without any real ramifications.
It seemed like a no-brainer to ban these two fans from any MLB ballpark for life, but logic is becoming increasingly difficult to find these days. At least they got the call right — though it took 18 hours to find it.
