Category: Baseball

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Oh sports, and all of its fine lines that matter so much. A blade of grass here, an extra coat of paint on an upright there, a split second on a clock.

In baseball, there is the line between fair or foul, capable of separating glory from disaster, and then also the line between fan behavior that’s either boisterously enthusiastic (fair) or dangerously obnoxious (foul).

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What happened involving Mookie Betts and a pair of New York Yankees fans on Tuesday night falls into the latter category, no question about it. In the first inning of the World Series’ Game 4, Betts jumped to grab a Gleyber Torres pop-up along the right-field wall, but after he caught the ball, front row fan Austin Capobianco wrenched it out of his glove, while alongside him, John Peter took hold of Betts’ non-catching arm.

Both fans were ejected and Capobianco was reportedly told he would be arrested if the pair tried to enter Game 5 (8:08 p.m. ET on FOX). If that’s the only punishment meted out, it would seem to veer heavily on the lenient side, given the level of interference and the potential injury that might have been caused to Betts, the Los Angeles Dodgers star.

It is a thorny issue, and it is easy to see why the instant ban to take care of the immediate issue was implemented — Game 5 is the last game of the season at Yankee Stadium, even if New York is able to keep the series alive — to perhaps buy time to decide on something sterner.

[RELATED: Yankees ban fans from Game 5 who grabbed Betts]

Most of all, it is thorny because of that fine line mentioned earlier. There is no excusing what Capobianco and Peter did, quite the opposite. If a ban of several seasons or even more was put into place, there would be zero argument here.

Yet what is a little alarming to consider is that, except for the two key actions that crossed any kind of reasonable standard level, there were elements of what happened that actually spoke to what is magical about baseball.

The fact that fans are so close to the action that they can literally be in the airspace of the playing area is part of baseball’s time-honored lore. The fact that you can catch a ball bound for the stands and, heck, if you do so, you get to keep it forever. The fact that fans care so much, that the soul of their team courses through their veins, especially if November nears, especially if it’s the Series, especially if it’s a storied rivalry like New York and Los Angeles.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series]

Yet amid all the excitement, there has to be some sort of decorum. Scream, cheer, shout, hurl yells and insults if you really have to, but let’s have a very clear understanding of what the role of the fan is.

We talk about the 12th man and supporters being part of the fabric of their ball club. They are part of the show, of course they are, because we all remember COVID and empty stadiums and how weird and eerie everything was.

Part of the entertainment, yes, but not part of the game, at least not in any way except rattling the nerves of an opposition player with a communal roar. Chant “Who’s Your Daddy” all you like, but for goodness’ sake keep your hands off the players, a statement that shouldn’t need to be made, but apparently does.

Don’t touch any gloves unless one is being offered as a fist bump. Don’t open up anyone’s glove to acquire a ball, be it a fellow fan’s or a player’s. Don’t run onto the field, because it’s dumb and wastes time, and you’ll get forcefully tackled and then kicked out for it. And don’t do anything that could affect how the outcome of the competition turns out, not even if you’re a cute smiley kid, like Jeffrey Maier was in 1996.

Being a fan is a privilege, even if it is an expensive one, with interest in this World Series so feverishly high. Paying for those tickets doesn’t buy you any extra concession or remove the requirement for a baseline of conduct.

For all the tens of thousands of games that have passed without a problem over time, how many repeats of what happened to Betts do you think would have to happen before changes were made to the ballpark experience?

This is a superb World Series, highlighted by Shohei Ohtani’s mere presence, by Freddie Freeman’s impossible hot streak, by the Yankees’ stirring revival in Game 4, and the tantalizing possibility that this thing might not be quite over yet.

Amid all that, it frankly hurts a little bit to be addressing a peripheral issue as disappointing as this one. Sometimes, that’s just the nature of things. And sometimes, it can be a reminder.

Whether the ball is foul or not, let’s keep the behavior fair.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX.

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports

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The two New York Yankees fans who interfered with Mookie Betts‘ attempt to make a catch in Game 4 of the World Series have been barred from attending Wednesday’s Game 5. 

Yankees fans Austin Capobianco and John Peter were ejected from Game 4 after the incident with Betts in the first inning when the Los Angeles Dodgers star made a grab along the right field wall in foul territory. Even though Capobianco and Peter were ejected, the Yankees season-ticket holders told ESPN that they were told they could attend Game 5.

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However, MLB asked the Yankees to ban Capobianco and Peter from attending Game 5. Capobianco told ESPN that the Yankees warned him that he and his friend would be arrested if they attempted to attend Wednesday night’s game. It’s unclear if the ban will extend beyond Wednesday, ESPN reported.

The Yankees released a statement on Wednesday describing the incident as “egregious and unacceptable phyical contact” with Betts. 

“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 statement continued. “Tonight 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.”

Capobianco and Peter were seen trying to rip the ball out of Betts’ glove after he made the grab on Gleyber Torres‘ fly ball. Capobianco tugged on Betts’ glove while Peter grabbed Betts’ right wrist. Torres was immediately ruled out due to fan interference.

Betts was noticeably upset with the fans after the play. He brushed aside the incident, though, when he was asked about it following the Dodgers’ 11-4 loss.

“When it comes to the person in play, it doesn’t matter,” Betts said after the Yankees extended the series with an 11-4 victory. “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 gotta turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.”

The Dodgers will have another chance to clinch a World Series title on Wednesday night as they’re up 3-1 in the series. Even if the Yankees win Game 5, Wednesday’s game is the final game scheduled at Yankee Stadium for the series. Games 6 and 7 will take place in Los Angeles, if necessary.

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NEW YORK — The bigger the spotlight on his individual efforts, the softer Anthony Volpe’s voice gets. 

When the Yankees shortstop is asked about his performance in a given game, he tends to brush off the magnitude of his heroics before redirecting the spotlight onto his teammates. That’s how it went late Tuesday night, moments after he hit a grand slam for his first career playoff home run and was brought into the Yankees press conference room to discuss it.

Even though this wasn’t just a typical grand slam — it gave the Yankees a much-needed early lead over the Dodgers in an elimination Game 4 of the World Series — Volpe sat at the podium with the same shy demeanor and soft-spoken voice that he’s exhibited since his major-league debut last year. Only when he was asked to trace his Yankees fandom did the 23-year-old sit up a little straighter and look more confident, more self-assured, in front of the cameras and bright lights. 

“My grandfather, the Yankees are more than just a team or an organization for him,” Volpe said. “Because his father fought in World War II when he was little, and by the time he got back, his mom basically told him, ‘This is your dad.’ He didn’t know him, didn’t recognize him, didn’t know anything. The way he says it, the way he got to know and get to know his father was, he sat on his lap every single night, and they listened to the Yankees together. So, for him, it’s more than sports.”

It’s a story he’s told before, but never on the grandest national stage, when there are more eyeballs and attention on the second-year shortstop than he’s ever experienced. Volpe’s shy nature means we might never know, at least not for a while, how much this grand slam that sparked an 11-4 win blowout actually meant to him. But seeing him discuss his teammates’ feats more than his own, and hearing him retell the story of how much the Yankees organization means to his family, it’s easy to see that Volpe’s driving force as an athlete is centered on working hard for the people around him. 

If they’re winning, then he is too. 

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

“I love him, he’s like a little brother to me,” Anthony Rizzo said of Volpe. “He works so hard. He cares so much about his teammates. He never really gets down. So, for him to have that moment in the World Series, hometown kid, it’s pretty special.”

The Yankees forced a Game 5 against the Dodgers not by the hands of Juan Soto, Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton. On a chilly Tuesday night in the Bronx, it was the Baby Bombers who came through in the most important game of their careers to date. 

After Volpe, Yankees rookie catcher Austin Wells is the third-youngest player on the Yankees’ World Series roster. He was 0-for-8 at the plate in the Fall Classic when Yankees manager Aaron Boone benched him for Game 3. Rizzo said it was hard for Wells to watch from the dugout, especially as the Yankees fell behind 3-0 in the Series, but it only made how he responded Tuesday that much more impactful. 

Wells ripped a 406-foot double off the padding in center field in his first at-bat of the night, then crushed a solo shot to right field to lead off the sixth. Not only did the rookie’s second home run of the postseason double a Yankees lead that had been trimmed to one, it reminded the 49,354 fans in attendance that, no matter how this World Series ends, the Yankees’ future will be bright behind Volpe and Wells. 

“It’s not really a friendship anymore. It’s a brotherhood,” Volpe said of his relationship with Wells. “We’ve been through it all together. The highest of highs, and at some point, the lowest of lows. He’s my first call, my last call. I know he has my back through thick and thin. To have a moment like that, for him to have a moment like that is special. But to do it together, you can’t trade it for anything.”

The Yankees catcher echoed Volpe’s sentiment, and added that it was clear to him as soon as he got to know the shortstop in the Yankees’ minor-league system that they had the same goals of being able to contribute to a historic franchise. Neither of them wanted to be superstars, per se. They just wanted to help the Yankees win another title, even if all they provided were modest contributions. Alas, Volpe’s clutch at-bat was anything but. 

Wells said Volpe’s grand slam in the third inning — which followed another Freddie Freeman two-run home run in the first — allowed the Yankees to take a deep breath, relax and enjoy playing baseball. He said his teammates were just waiting for that “one big swing” to break out of the funk that had marked three consecutive World Series losses. 

“I think the situation we were in, we just kind of needed to say screw it and go after it and have fun because some guys may never come back to the World Series again,” Wells said. “So, just enjoying the game, and I think that allowed us to play a lot looser tonight.”

It’s well known by now that Volpe grew up in New Jersey rooting for the Bronx Bombers and idolizing Derek Jeter. Now that he’s effectively in Jeter’s shoes, the pressure to excel at the highest level, in front of the largest media market in the world, all while getting scrutinized for every misplay, big or small, can be a lot. Perhaps some of the tension got to Volpe in the second inning, when he misread Wells’ long double and looked to tag up from second before having to hold at third. 

Volpe ended up touching home plate on Alex Verdugo’s RBI groundout, and he more than made up for his gaffe with his grand slam. But he still took accountability after the game: “That’s completely on me.” Initially frustrated with himself, Volpe relaxed after his teammates reminded him through their own excellent at-bats in Game 4 that they’d pick him up. 

Sometimes, his quiet demeanor makes him come off as one of the most serious guys on the Yankees roster. But left-hander Nestor Cortes set the record straight.

“He’s got a little fire in him. A little zest,” Cortes said. “He’s a little sassy. He’s becoming a little slicker, which is good. It’s good for him. He came up as a highly touted prospect. A lot of people expected him to be the next Jeter. That’s very hard to do. I think he’s gonna become a really good player — he already is. But I think he’s going to embrace who he is and write his own narrative and chapter here. He doesn’t have to follow who Jeter was.”

Volpe was excellent in this postseason even before he became the fourth-youngest player to hit a grand slam in the World Series. He entered the Fall Classic batting .310 with eight walks, six runs scored and an .804 OPS in nine playoff games. Now, the shortstop is the Yankees’ World Series RBI leader with five. More importantly, he’s the biggest reason there will be a Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday. 

Maybe as he logs more moments like his grand slam, he’ll stand up a little taller, speak a little louder, and come out of his shell. 

But what Volpe’s shown us so far in his young career is that he doesn’t need the big spotlight or the outrageous comparisons to a Yankees Hall of Famer to come up clutch for his team. 

He just needs to be himself.

“The more he does it, the more he needs to go out there and talk,” Cortes said. “The more he becomes the player of the game, I think you’ll see his personality a little more.”

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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The World Series is known for its thrilling moments, and home runs often take center stage. This year, Freddie Freeman is on fire, hitting a home run in each of the four games so far. Where does his performance stack up? Check out everything you need to know about slugging in World Series history:

Who holds the record for the most home runs in a single World Series?

Three players share this record for most home runs in a single World Series with five home runs: 

Who holds the record for the most consecutive home runs in World Series games?

Freddie Freeman has broken the World Series record with a homer in six consecutive World Series games, dating back to the last two games of the 2021 World Series (Atlanta Braves) and the first four games of the 2024 World Series (Los Angeles Dodgers). 

Freeman is the second player to hit home runs in four consecutive games during a single World Series, and he is the first to do so in each of the first four games. George Springer also homered in the last four games of the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers.

Who holds the record for the most home runs in a World Series game?

The record for the most home runs hit in a World Series game is three, achieved by four players: 

• Babe Ruth (Yankees, 1926, 1928)
• Reggie Jackson (Yankees, 1977)
• Albert Pujols (Cardinals, 2011)
• Pablo Sandoval (Giants, 2012)

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Link to Original Article - on Fox Sports