MLB did the right thing, and so did the Yankees. The fans who interfered Tuesday night with Mookie Betts were told in no uncertain terms Wednesday that they would not be welcomed back to Game 5. They were told they would be arrested if they tried.
“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 early Wednesday afternoon.
“[Wednesday night] marks the final home game of year, and we want every ounce of our fans’ passion on display. Yankee Stadium is known for its energy and intensity, however the exuberance of supporting one’s team can never cross the line into intentionally putting players at physical risk.
“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.”
No matter how many ways MLB tries to curtail these incidents, they never really go away. And while Jeffrey Maier is now a 40-year-old New Hampshire resident who still roots hard for the Yankees, it seems people still believe they can be a charming part of the game if they give it a go to go where they’re not supposed to go.
And I get it. I was part of the problem.
I was there. I was in the scrum. I had hurried down from the main press box, dashed through the main concourse out toward right field, and when I saw the crowd I knew I was in the right place. This was four newspaper jobs ago for me, but that doesn’t matter. I had a credential around my neck. I had a notebook in my hand.
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I was one of the ones who asked Jeffrey Maier: “How does it feel to be a part of baseball history?”
I gleefully wrote about a 12-year-old becoming a part of Yankee lore.
I own that. I was part of the problem. By the next day, Maier was a national celebrity and a local hero — “Angel in the Outfield!” was one of the headlines.
And Maier — who now goes by Jeff, as a 40-year-old should — just a few days ago talked to The Post’s Mark Sanchez about the moment he snatched a Derek Jeter fly ball away from Baltimore’s Tony Tarasco, and in a time before replay review what he’d done is snatch a run for the Yankees — an essential run, as it turned out, because it tied Game 1 and forced extra innings.
If you do a search on newspapers.com for Oct. 10, 1996, the day after, you’ll see that some 244 different news organizations had Jeffrey’s name in their stories off Game 1. Baseball wasn’t nearly as amused — with reason. Fan interference is a terrible — and potentially hazardous — thing. In the years to come, the rule would be clarified, and strengthened.
Replay would more sharply define the boundary between “fan’s place” and “player’s place,” which is just another reason why the way Chicago ostracized poor Steve Bartman — who didn’t cross the barrier, he just had the misfortune of putting his glove in the way of Moises Alou — was so shameful seven years later. And ballparks have tried to put more space between players and fans.
Just not enough.
Which is why Austin Capobianco and John Peter got their 15 minutes of fame Tuesday night, because they were able to crack the barrier and actually take a baseball out of Mookie Betts’ glove — “wrestled it away” is actually more accurate.
And in the moment, they were celebrated by some. It even caused Dodgers pitcher Ben Casparius to suggest it “kind of set the tone for the night.”
“We always joke about the ball in our area,” the 38-year-old Capobianco told ESPN after he was ejected Tuesday. “We’re not going to go out of our way to attack. If it’s in our area, we’re going to ‘D’ up.”
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Except they WERE out of their way, and out of line. They leaned into the field of play. Even Capobianco seemed to notice this.
“I know when I’m in the wrong, and as soon as I did it I was like, ‘Boys, I’m out of here.’”
Of course, this all happened just four days after a fan at Dodger Stadium also interfered, catching a Gleyber Torres drive before it could clear the fence. He was ejected so quickly he was gone by the time media members dutifully sought him out.
“It probably worked in my favor that it helped the home team,” Maier told Sanchez after that, and he’s right. It also helped that he was 12 years old, and was just working on instinct, trying to catch a baseball heading his way. He wasn’t a grown-ass man, looking to do battle, who a day later hinted he would go back for Game 5.
Good for MLB and the Yankees to put the kibosh on that. He’s lucky they agreed to a refund.