'A FOR EFFORT:' Yankees fans ripped for interfering on Mookie Betts catch
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Talk about some bad apples.
New York City is no stranger to fan interference in MLB playoff games, but the latest incident might be the most egregious of them all.
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'A FOR EFFORT:' Yankees fans ripped for interfering on Mookie Betts catch Back to video
A pair of bozos set social media aflame with fury during Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium as they grabbed the glove of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts on a play at the stands in foul territory and ripped the ball away.
Betts reacted angrily, and umpires immediately called the play out on fan interference, sending Yankees leadoff hitter Gleyber Torres back to the bench.
“A for effort,” Fox Sports announcer Joe Davis said during the broadcast, which saw one of the fans grab Betts’ glove while prying the ball from it, and the other grab Betts’ wrist.
“Well, he won’t be watching the game much longer,” analyst John Smoltz chimed in.
The two fans were ejected.
“When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter,” Betts said. “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 Dodgers had a two-run lead at the time on Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer, but the Dodgers were unable to complete a sweep and took an 11-4 loss to the Yankees. Torres later hit a three-run homer to right field for New York’s final runs.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Dodgers rookie pitcher Ben Casparius. “It’s pretty interesting. It was obviously very early in the game so I think it kind of set the tone.”
The fracas along the first base line was the second fan interference incident this series on a ball off the bat of Torres — a fan at Dodger Stadium reached out to catch a near-homer in Game 1, which was ruled a double instead — and immediately drew the ire of spectators.
“Yankees fans. Biggest a**holes to ever do it,” Section 10 Podcast host Jared Carrabis said.
An infamous instance of fan interference in modern Yankees playoff history was the catch made by Jeffrey Maier, then a 12-year-old boy from New Jersey, during the 1996 AL Championship Series between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles.
In that incident, Maier deflected a deep shot off the bat of Derek Jeter into the stands, which umpires ruled a home run as Orioles right-fielder Tony Tarasco tried to plead his case.
The Yankees went on to beat the Atlanta Braves for their first of four World Series championships in a span of five seasons, while Maier became an instant star and made appearances on the national talk-show circuit.
He’s now a 40-year-old father of three in New Hampshire who works in technology sales and remains a diehard Yankees fan, the New York Post reported this week.
— With files from The Associated Press
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