The New York Yankees fans who went viral for trying to prize the ball out of the glove of Dodgers right fielder 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.
Two Yankees fans have an indefinite baseball ban for the Mookie Betts World Series incident
The fans were ejected after trying to rip the ball out of the glove of Mookie Betts
They were banned from returning for World Series Game 5 after the incident at Yankee 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.’
At the time, Betts was dismissive of the incident and said in the locker room: ”When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter.
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.’
The Dodgers went on to win Game 5 and secure a 4-1 World Series victory in New York.
Over the holidays, Betts appeared on a television show with Kevin Hart and was asked again about the incident.
‘I would really say “f*** you guys”. Like try and get the ball, cool. But you tried to grab my s***,’ Betts said.
‘I was in the moment. So I thought about throwing the ball at them. And then I realized, “Mook, you ain’t gonna do s***. Go back to right field.”‘
The decision by MLB comes around two months before the beginning of the 2025 season. The Yankees start at March 27 against Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium.
