Two Yankees fans banned from World Series for interfering with rival's catch
Two New York Yankees fans ejected from game four of the World Series for interfering with Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts have been banned from game five.
Betts leaped at the wall in foul territory and initially caught Gleyber Torres’ pop up in the first inning on Wednesday morning (AEDT), but a fan in the first row with a gray Yankees’ road jersey grabbed Betts’ glove with both hands and pulled the ball out. Another fan grabbed Betts’ non-glove hand.
The Yankees called the fans' behavior "egregious and unacceptable".
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Betts was leaping to make the catch but two Yankees fans interfered with the play. AP
"Yankee Stadium is known for its energy and intensity, however the exuberance of supporting one's team can never cross the line into intentionally putting players at physical risk," the team said in a statement.
"The Yankees and Major League Baseball maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward the type of behavior displayed. These fans will not be permitted to attend (game five) in any capacity."
The Major League Baseball Players Association also expressed concern about player safety and security.
Two fans who interfered with a player have been banned from attending the next World Series game. Getty
"As with every incident at the ballpark that affects players, we have been in regular contact with league security officials since last night’s incident and will be closely tracking both the response to that incident and the protective measures taken going forward, beginning tonight," the union said in a statement.
The Dodgers had a two-run lead at the time of the incident on Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer. Betts reacted angrily to the play, and Torres was immediately called out on fan interference.
"When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter," Betts said after the Yankees extended the series with an 11-4 victory.
"We lost. It's irrelevant. I'm fine. He's fine. Everythings' cool. We lost the game and that's what I’m kind of focused on. We got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow."
It was the second time Torres had an at-bat impacted by fan interference this World Series. With two outs in the ninth inning of the series opener at Dodger Stadium, Torres hit a fly ball to left field, and a fan reached over and caught the ball. Torres was awarded a double.
Torres later hit a three-run homer to right field for New York's final runs.
