The New York Yankees fans who went viral for trying to prize the ball out of the glove of Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts have been indefinitely banned from baseball.
The two fans, Austin Capobianco and John P. Hansen, were ejected when, in Game 4, they grabbed Betts’ hand after he caught a Gleyber Torres flyball for pushed his fingers apart until the ball dropped out of his glove.
‘Your conduct posed a serious risk to the health and safety of the player and went far over the line of acceptable fan behavior,’ a letter from Major League Baseball, obtained by the New York Post, said.
Based on your conduct, Major League Baseball is banning you indefinitely from all MLB stadiums, offices, and other facilities.’
It has also emerged that the two men took the place of a season ticket holder who was unable to attend the game, according to the Post.
Capobianco said after the game that he had been prepared to make such a move for a long time and that he usually watched the Yankees in that area of the stadium.
‘We always joke about the ball in our area,’ he 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. I know when I’m in the wrong and as soon as I did it, I was like, “Boys I’m out of here”. I patrol that wall and they know that.’
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