Two New York Yankees fans were ejected from Game 4 of the World Series, after they attempted to take a ball from the glove of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts.
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That is, during the first inning lead-off hitter Gleyber Torres hit a pop up in foul territory, and as Betts leaped over the wall to make the catch, there were two men in the front row that attempted to pry the ball from him.
New York Yankees fan tries to take the ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/TVeDrE9rC7
— Highlight Vault (@HighlightVault) October 30, 2024
The two unrestrained Yankees fans have been identified as Austin Capobianco (grabbed the ball and glove) and John Peter (grabbed Betts' other hand).
"We always joke about the ball in our area," Capobianco, 38, said at a local bar after the game (per ESPN). "We're not going to go out of our way to attack. If it's in our area, we're going to 'D' up."
Apparently the two fans, who are season ticket holders, mistakenly thought they are a part of the team, mentioning that they plan to play defense if a ball is ever in their area.
The duo stated, "Someone defends, someone knocks the ball. We talk about it. We're willing to do this."
This isn't the only time this has happened at Yankees stadium, as some might remember in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS vs. the Baltimore Orioles, 12-year-old New York fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the outfield wall to snatch the ball, which resulted in a Derek Jeter home run.
October 9, 1996: The Jeffrey Maier game.
Orioles lead Yankees 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th of Game 1 of the ALCS…
pic.twitter.com/qyQFlXtUZr— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) October 10, 2024
Since there was no replay opportunity back then, there was no fan interference called.
With this in mind, Torres, who hit the foul pop up caught by Betts, was ruled out on fan interference.
That is to say, this was not the first time he had a fan try and grab a ball hit off his bat, as during Game 1 of this series, Torres sent a long high drive to deep left field, and a Dodgers fan caught the ball which was destined to hit the top the outfield wall.
A fan reached over the fence on this hit by Gleyber Torres resulting in a fan interference call pic.twitter.com/67dm8hrhqm
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 26, 2024
The call on the field was ruled fan interference, and Torres was credited with a double.
Unfortunately for Capobianco and Peter, they have been banned from the World Series, so they won't be able to play anymore defense for the Yankees.
Yankees fans booted for interfering with Mookie Betts after they ripped the ball out of his glove. #Yankees | #Dodgers | #WorldSeriespic.twitter.com/O7vVK6Q28k
— The Majors New York 🍎 (@TheMajorsNY) October 30, 2024
