On Tuesday night, two fans at Yankee Stadium were removed from Game 4 of the World Series after one pried a foul ball from Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts’ glove.
Betts leaped at the wall in the foul area to catch Gleyber Torres’ popup in the first inning, but Austin Capobianco, a fan in the first row, grabbed Betts’ glove with both hands and yanked the ball out. Capobianco’s friend, John Peter, then grasped Betts’ ungloved hand.
Betts responded aggressively, and right-field umpire Mark Carlson promptly ruled Torres out for fan interference.
Capobianco, a Yankees season ticket holder, claimed he knew he’d be in trouble but elected to grab and open Betts’ glove anyway, saying that he and Peter routinely talk about this scenario: if a foul ball comes their way, they’ll do anything they can to help their team.
Capobianco, 38, said at a local bar after the game, “We always joke about the ball in our area. 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.”
Betts, who was visibly furious in the moment, brushed down the incident after the game.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 49ers Star Charvarius Ward Announces Death Of 23-Month-Old Daughter
“When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter. 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,” Betts said.
The Dodgers had a two-run lead at the time thanks to Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer, but they were unable to complete the sweep and fell 11-4 to the Yankees.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s pretty interesting. It was obviously very early in the game so I think it kind of set the tone,” Dodgers rookie pitcher Ben Casparius said.
Capobianco and Peter were hauled out of Yankee Stadium but were informed they could return for Game 5 on Wednesday.
“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,” Austin Capobianco said.
The circumstance was reminiscent of Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS at Yankee Stadium and the subsequent controversy when adolescent New York fan Jeffrey Maier intercepted a fly ball that appeared to be heading for Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco’s glove.
With no replay review at the time, the hit resulted in a Derek Jeter home run, becoming an October baseball legend.
Torres’ at-bat was disrupted by fan interference for the second time this World Series. With two outs in the ninth inning of Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, Torres blasted a fly ball to left field, which was retrieved by a fan. Torres was awarded a double.
Torres later launched a three-run bomb to right field in Game 4, providing New York with its final runs.
Catch up with the latest news from SurgeZirc on WhatsApp by following our channel. Click here to join.
Kindly follow @surgezirc on Instagram. On X (Twitter), follow @surgezircnews.
