Teoscar Hernandez might have been amused in real time watching two fans try to pry the ball from his teammate during Game 4 of the World Series, but upon further review, the Dodgers outfielder realized the potential gravity of the situation.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, but now that I see the pictures and videos and all that stuff, it’s a little crazy that happens,” Hernandez said Wednesday before Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.
Mookie Betts, running toward a right field side wall, was interfered with by two fans as he reached over the fence in an attempt to catch Gleyber Torres’ foul pop-up in the first inning.
As Betts caught the ball, a fan grabbed Betts’ glove and tussled to pry it open.
Betts’ right wrist was grabbed by another fan, leaving Betts momentarily suspended in the air.
The ball popped out, but Torres was ruled out on fan interference.
The fans, identified as Austin Capobianco and John Peter, were ejected from the ballpark and on Wednesday the Yankees ruled that both were banned from Yankee Stadium for the remainder of the World Series.
The Yankees redistributed the Game 5 tickets held by the two ejected fans (plus others in that section) to a pediatric cancer patient and his family, the club said.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was pleased with the outcome.
“We didn’t need them to be here, so [the Yankees] refunded their tickets,” Roberts said. “So that’s perfect, right?”
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But Roberts said he wasn’t overly concerned about his players’ safety heading into Wednesday.
“If there is one player I don’t think is worried, it’s Mookie, given that he’s played a lot of games in this ballpark,” Roberts said, referring to the former Red Sox star. “It was just an unfortunate circumstance. I’m glad it was dealt with the right way.”
Hernandez also downplayed the possibility of another incident.
“Yankee fans, they are really passionate with this team,” Hernandez said. “They go hard on players, but I don’t think there is anything to worry about. I played here for six years against the Yankees and I never saw anything go wrong with the opposite team, so I don’t think today that is the case.”
But Hernandez agreed that discipline was warranted.
“Fans know they cannot do that, what they did [Tuesday] night,” he said. “But they are really into it, they are big fans and they care a lot for this team. It happens, but unfortunately for [the ejected fans], they are going to be thinking about that play last night for a long time.”
Alex Verdugo had plenty of experience playing at Yankee Stadium as a visitor with the Red Sox before he was traded to the Yankees.
The veteran outfielder said the fan interference was “extreme” in this instance, but not a reason to worry about player safety.
“I feel like that is what you expect out here,” Verdugo said. “You expect some unique things. At the end of the day, I didn’t feel it was too serious. I think Mookie kind of shook it off, too. That’s just kind of the passion New Yorkers have.”