Miah Massaro | Sports Editor
Incredibly early into the Yankees vs. Dodgers game on October 29th, two fans were escorted out of the arena and banned from showing up to game 5 after attempting to pry the ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove.
The "only in New York" moment happened at the bottom of the first inning when Gleyber Torres sent a pop fly to right field. The two-time World Series Champion, Mookie Betts, chased after the ball and was able to snag it, but a Yankees fan–who was later identified as Austin Capobianco –grabbed a hold of Betts’ gloved hand and wouldn’t let go of it until the ball was released.
MLB rules regarding interference permit fans to attempt to catch balls that land in the seating area. However, umpires have the discretion to call a batter out if a fan deliberately obstructs a fielder’s ability to make the catch. In this instance, Betts caught the ball before it was snatched from his glove, resulting in Torres being called out.
Multiple videos of this incident were uploaded online, and another fan standing beside Capobianco, who was identified as John Peter, was shown taking ahold of Betts’ free hand, restricting him from being able to pry himself away from Capobianco.
"The fans were escorted out of Yankee Stadium following the incident and ejected," a team spokesperson said in a statement. The two were also explicitly told not to attempt returning for game 5 of the World Series, which takes place on October 30th.
What happened at the game got a rise out of a large number of people–Dodgers fans, of course–but fans of other teams came to Betts’ defense, especially fans of the Red Sox, who Betts played for prior to being traded to the Dodgers back in 2020.
Comments under Instagram and TikTok posts include things such as: “I’m a huge Yankees fan. Mega respect for Mookie. I’m so glad he wasn’t injured.” “As a Red Sox fan, I will always stand up for Mookie. Integrity is key and this behavior isn’t okay.” “They’re going to end up putting nets around the field some day and you’ll all have nobody but yourselves to blame.”
Capobianco revealed to ESPN that he was aware he was doing something wrong, but that he held little to no remorse about what happened. He expressed that he “patrol[s] that wall and they know that.” The Yankees spoke about the situation afterwards as well, stating that both of the fans' behavior was “egregious and unacceptable.”
Upon watching the video online, it is clear to see that Betts’ wrists get a bit bent when he is grabbed, and many folks were worried that he could have gotten hurt–which is not a far stretch at all. Betts was asked later on if he had been hurt at all, but he simply stated, “I didn’t even know he grabbed my hand, sp [my wrist] is perfectly fine.” Betts was more upset over the fact that the Dodgers lost the night, aiming to keep himself and the team focused on the bigger picture and describing the situation from the first inning as “irrelevant.”
Despite Mookie Betts being free from injury, this kind of fan behavior is still incredibly unacceptable. "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.
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