Two New York Yankees fans are barred from attending Game 5 of the World Series in Yankee Stadium after being ejected for game interference in Game 4 on Tuesday.
In the first inning of Game 4, New York Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres hit a fly ball toward right field foul territory, and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts leaped upward at the fenceline and caught the ball.
Two fans in the stands tried to snatch the ball from Betts’ glove and grabbed at his wrist, causing Betts to drop 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
Since Betts had initially made the catch before the fans interfered, umpires called Torres out on the play. The two interfering fans, later identified as season ticketholder Austin Capobianco and his friend John Peter, were ejected from the game.
The Yankees went on to win their first game of the World Series, defeating the Dodgers 11-4.
Capobianco acknowledged his actions were wrong but did not express remorse.
“We always joke about the ball in our area,” said Capobianco. “We’re not going to go out of our way to attack. If it’s in our area, we’re going to ‘D’ up. Someone defends, someone knocks the ball. We talk about it. We’re willing to do this.”
Capobianco was not surprised that he was ejected.
“I know when I’m in the wrong and as soon as I did it, I was like, ‘Boys I’m out of here. I patrol that wall and they know that,” he told ESPN.
As for Betts, he has moved on from the incident, dismissing it as “irrelevant.”
“When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter,” Betts said, per Sports Illustrated. “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.”
The incident on Tuesday was the second episode of fan interference in this year’s World Series.
In Game 1, Torres hit a line drove toward left centerfield, which appeared to be headed to the wall, but a fan in a Dodgers jersey reached over the wall and caught the ball. In that instance, the umpires decided to hold Torres at second instead of allowing him to round all four bases for a home run.
However, the interference was inconsequential in the end and did not affect the game’s outcome.
Game 5 of the World Series is set to kick off on October 30 at 7:08 CT at Yankee Stadium. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the series 3-1.
