NEW YORK — Two New York Yankees fans who were ejected from Game 4 of the World Series for interfering with Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts have been banned from Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Betts leaped at the wall in foul territory and initially caught Gleyber Torres’ fly ball during the first inning Tuesday night, but a fan in the first row with a gray Yankees’ road jersey, Austin Capobianco, grabbed Betts’ glove with both hands and pulled the ball out. Another fan, John Peter, grabbed Betts’ non-glove hand.
The Yankees announced in a statement Wednesday that the fans “will not be permitted to attend tonight’s game in any capacity” and added that the incident Tuesday night with Betts was “egregious and unacceptable.”
“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 its statement. “The Yankees and Major League Baseball maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward the type of behavior displayed last night.
“The safety and security of players, fans and Stadium staff is the foundational element of every event held at Yankee Stadium, and it cannot be compromised.”
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, quoting an unnamed source, reported that it was not immediately clear whether the ban against Capobianco, a season-ticket holder, and Peter would apply to any Yankee Stadium games next season.
Capobianco told ESPN that the Yankees refunded him the cost of the tickets for Game 5 and also informed him that he would be arrested if he tried to attend the game.
“We’re hoping for a short-term ban,” Capobianco told ESPN. “We don’t want to lose the season tickets.”
The Major League Baseball Players Association also expressed concern about player safety and security.
“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. Everything’s 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 Game 1 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 in the Game 5 win.
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