Yankee fans who interfered with Mookie Betts banned from Game 5 of World Series

For the record:
3:08 p.m. Oct. 30, 2024:

There is fan interference and there is misdemeanor assault, and what happened to Dodgers star Mookie Betts in the right-field corner of Yankee Stadium in the first inning of Tuesday night’s 11-4 World Series Game 4 loss to New York might qualify as the latter.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Betts said after the game, frustrated by the Dodgers’ inability to complete a four-game sweep of the Yankees but happy to have avoided injury on the play. “But there’s always a first time.”

Gleyber Torres led off the bottom of the first with a fly ball to right that drifted into foul territory. Betts, a six-time Gold Glove-winning outfielder, leaped at the high padded wall in foul territory and made the catch between two Yankees fans, one wearing a road gray No. 99 Aaron Judge jersey and the other wearing a home white No. 42 Mariano Rivera pinstriped jersey.

But as Betts tried to secure the ball, the fan in the road jersey — identified by the Athletic’s Brendan Kuty as Austin Capobianco, 38, of Connecticut — reached into Betts’ glove in an attempt to pry the ball loose. The other fan, identified as John Peter by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, then grabbed the wrist of Betts’ throwing hand and yanked on it so the outfielder couldn’t grab the ball, which squirted out of Betts’ glove and fell onto the warning track. Right-field umpire Mark Carlson immediately called fan interference, and Torres was ruled out.

Capobianco and Peter were ejected and escorted from their seats by stadium security, exchanging high-fives and at least one hug with applauding fans as they walked up the aisle. The Yankees announced Wednesday the fans would not be allowed in the stadium for Game 5.

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“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,” the Yankees said in a statement, adding: “The Yankees and Major League Baseball maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward the type of behavior displayed last night. These fans will not be permitted to attend tonight’s game in any capacity.”

Tony Clark, the executive director of the MLB Players Assn., said in a statement: “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.”

“Yeah, that looked ridiculous from my perspective,” Dodgers shortstop Tommy Edman said. “The guy was trying to yank his glove off, pulling at his wrist. … It looked like he got ejected, and I’m glad he did. I’ve never seen anything like that. That was unacceptable.”

Betts played his first six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, on the opposite side of one of baseball’s fiercest rivalries, so he’s used to being the object of scorn in the Bronx. But never had he seen fans take such aggressive actions toward a player.

Though he clearly was angry after the play, he did not harbor any ill will toward the fans.

“We lost, it’s irrelevant,” Betts said of the play. “I’m fine. [The fan] is fine. Everything’s cool. We lost the game, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Dodgers reliever Ben Casparius, who threw the first two innings of a bullpen game Tuesday night, giving up one run and one hit, walking three and striking out one, grew up a Red Sox fan in Westport, Conn., and said he attended 50 to 60 games in Yankee Stadium as a kid, always sporting his Red Sox gear. Was he surprised by what happened?

“No, not at all,” Casparius said. “I think it was an interesting moment, just being a couple of pitches into the game. And obviously, there’s a history with this team and [Mookie] playing for the Red Sox as long as he did. It was kind of like a ‘here we go’ moment early on.”

The Dodgers had a “here we go again” moment in the top of the first when Betts doubled into the right-field corner with one out and Freddie Freeman lined a two-run homer into the right-field seats for a 2-0 lead. It was deja vu all over again for Freeman, who hit a two-run homer in the first inning of Monday night’s 4-2 victory in Game 3.

But the Yankees scored once in the second, and shortstop Anthony Volpe crushed a poorly placed first-pitch slider from Dodgers reliever Daniel Hudson into the left-field seats for a two-out grand slam and a 5-2 lead.

The Dodgers scored twice in the top of the fifth to trim the deficit to 5-4, but New York catcher Austin Wells blasted a solo homer into the second deck in right field in the sixth for a 6-4 lead.

The Yankees then blew the game open with a five-run eighth off Dodgers right-hander Brent Honeywell, a rally that was highlighted by Torres’ three-run homer to right-center.

Read more: Plaschke: No big deal. Dodgers punt Game 4, but they're still in control against the Yankees

Struggling Yankees slugger Aaron Judge capped the rally with an RBI single to left after walking, getting hit by a pitch, reaching on an error and flying out to center field in his first four plate appearances.

“They’re gonna fight,” Betts said of the Yankees. “If you made it this far, you have a resilience in you. You’re gonna fight the whole time. We expected that. Obviously, we didn’t play well today, and they did. That’s why they won.

“We’re up three games to one right now. We feel pretty good about it. But no lead is safe until you win the fourth game.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.