Two fans at Yankee Stadium were ejected from Game 4 of the World Series after one pried a foul ball out of the glove of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts on Tuesday night.
Betts leaped at the wall in foul territory and initially caught Gleyber Torres’ pop-up in the first inning, but a fan in the first row with a gray Yankees’ road jersey grabbed Betts’ glove with both hands and pulled the ball out. Another fan grabbed Betts’ non-glove hand.
Betts reacted angrily, and Torres was immediately called out on fan interference.
“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.”
Schedule
Best-of-seven series.
Fri 25 Oct Game 1: LA Dodgers 6, New York Yankees 3 (10 innings)
Sat 26 Oct Game 2: LA Dodgers 4, New York Yankees 2
Mon 28 Oct Game 3: LA Dodgers 4, New York Yankees 2
Tue 29 Oct Game 4: New York Yankees 11, LA Dodgers 4
Wed 30 Oct Game 5: LA Dodgers 7, New York Yankees 6
ESPN identified the fan who grabbed the ball from Betts’ glove as Austin Capobianco, a 38-year-old Yankees season-ticket holder from Connecticut. Capobianco’s friend, John Peter, grabbed Betts’ non-glove hand. Both were escorted from the grounds by stadium security shortly after the incident.
Capobianco told the network afterward that he and Peter had previously discussed the exact scenario that came to pass.
“We always joke about the ball in our area,” Capobianco told ESPN. “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.”
"Well, A for effort."
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 30, 2024
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
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.
“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 Dodgers, one win away from their second title in five years, held a 2-0 lead on Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer in the top of the first off Luis Gil when the incident happened.
But the home side roared back, as New York City native Anthony Volpe smashed a grand slam to keep the Yankees’ hopes alive with an 11-4 victory.
The Dodgers lead the series 3-1 and will attempt to secure their second title in five years and eighth in franchise history on Wednesday when Jack Flaherty opposes Gerrit Cole in a rematch of Game 1.
