Subscribe
Follow Us
In the first inning of Game 4 of the World Series, New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres hit a fly ball into the foul territory in right field. Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts ran over to try and make the catch, appeared to catch the ball, and crashed into the wall and leaned into the stands.
As Betts made the catch and approached the stands, two Yankees fans began aggressively grabbing at Betts' arm and glove to try and dislodge the ball.
“Well, A for effort.”
Fan interference was called on this play where a Yankee fan tried to take the ball out of Mookie Betts' glove after an out. pic.twitter.com/iZ6taImncd
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 30, 2024
After one fan pried Betts' glove open and the other grabbed at his right hand, the ball came loose, but the umpires still ruled that Torres was out due to fan interference.
Those fans, who were later revealed to be Austin Capobianco and John Peter, have now been banned from Yankee Stadium for Game 5 in a joint decision made by Major League Baseball and the Yankees. Ahead of Game 5 on Wednesday afternoon, the Yankees released a statement on the decision per Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.
“Last night two fans were ejected from Yankee Stadium for egregious and unacceptable physical contact with Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts,” the Yankees wrote.
“The Yankees and Major League Baseball maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward the type of behavior displayed last night,”the Yankees continued. “These fans will not be permitted to attend tonight's game in any capacity.”
This instance of fan interference has polarized the baseball world. Should these fans be panned for life for potentially endangering Betts? Are they heroes doing what any die-hard fan would do in the same situation? Did the Yankees and MLB go too far in banning them from Game 5?
The New York Yankees fans who interfered with Mookie Betts should not be banned from Game 5
MLB's rulebook clearly defines what is and is not “spectator interference.”
“There is a difference between a ball which has been thrown or batted into the stands, touching a spectator thereby being out of play even though it rebounds onto the field and a spectator going onto the field or reaching over, under or through a barrier and touching a ball in play or touching or otherwise interfering with a player. In the latter case it is clearly intentional and shall be dealt with as intentional interference as in Rule 6.01(d). Batter and runners shall be placed where in the umpire’s judgment they would have been had the interference not occurred.”
“No interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk. However, should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence, railing or rope, and plainly prevent the fielder from catching the ball, then the batsman should be called out for the spectator’s interference.”
When Betts initially makes his catch, it is not immediately clear whether or not he is in the field of play. However, because he appeared to have control of the ball before potentially exiting the field of play and the clear intent of the fans to interfere with the ball, it makes sense based on the spectator interference rules that Torres was still ruled out.
While it is fair to say that the fans did commit “egregious and unacceptable physical contact,” like the Yankees described, because of the ambiguity of whether or not Betts exited the field of play, it seems like an overreaction to ban these fans from Game 5 and, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers, be threatened with arrest if they try and sneak in to Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.
Yes, these fans should not have grabbed Betts. But, they did what most die-hard fans would do in that situation to try and help their team. An ejection from Game 4 was fair, they violated MLB's and Yankee Stadium's rules. By dragging this out and continuing to feed into the story, MLB is making this a much bigger deal than it needs to be.
It would have been must-watch to see the reception that Capobianco and Peter would have gotten at Yankee Stadium in Game 5. Baseball once again has failed to capitalize on a potential viral moment to grow their sport by overreacting to what in reality was a relatively minor incident.
