Hear about Yankees fans who grabbed the ball from Mookie Betts in the middle of the game

Two fans found their stay at Game 4 of the World Series short after one grabbed the glove of Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts, wedged it open and ripped out the baseball at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.

The fan, who was a 38-year-old Connecticut man named Austin Capobianco, and a fan next to him were immediately ejected from their right field seats in foul territory in the first inning.

The incident occurred when the Yankees were down 2-0 and trying to avoid being defeated in the series. Gleyber Torres hit first with a pop fly that Betts stretched over the padded wall with his glove. Capobianco grabbed his glove with both hands and his friend John Peter grabbed Betts' hand when a scuffle ensued and Capobianco broke open the glove and threw the ball onto the field. The referees ruled out fan interference in the game and Torres was out.

Capobianco told ESPN that he knew he was making the wrong move, but that he and Peter had planned for a moment like this.

“In our area we always joke about the ball,” said Capobianco, a season ticket holder, as he arrived at a local bar after the game. “We won’t bother attacking. If it's in our area, we'll ramp up “D.” Someone defends, someone hits the ball. We talk about it. We are ready for this.”

The Yankees cruised to an 11-4 victory and will be eliminated again tonight in the fifth game of the series. The procedure brought back memories of fans like Steve Bartman and Jeffrey Maier, but former MLB umpire Dale Scott called the incident “one of the most aggressive” he had ever seen. Betts said he had “never seen anything like this” but was involved in an incident – aside from the scuffle – in the 2018 American League Championship Series while playing for the Boston Red Sox. In Game 1 of this year's series, a fan reached over the outfield wall to catch a Torres fly ball. On Tuesday night, Betts preferred to focus on Game 5.

“That doesn't matter. We lost. It's irrelevant. I'm fine, he's fine. Everything is cool,” he told reporters. “We lost the game, that’s kind of what I’m focused on. We need to turn the page and prepare for tomorrow.”

Dodgers infielder Tommy Edman called the incident “unacceptable,” although, like Betts, he was careful not to release any Yankees bulletin board material.

“It looked ridiculous from my perspective,” Edman said. “…I've never seen anything like this before.”

But Ana Flamengo, a fellow Yankees fan, had a different opinion: Her team was trying to become the first team to win the series after a 3-0 deficit. “I told him he was my hero because he tried to save the Yankees,” she told The Athletic. “It’s the championship game.”

As for the Capobiancos, they told ESPN that they were told they could return for Game 5, a matter the Yankees did not address.

“I know when I'm in the wrong, and as soon as I did, I was like, 'Guys, I'm out of here,'” Capobianco said. “I patrol the wall and they know it.”

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