The Yankees fan who attempted to rip the ball from Mookie Betts’ glove has spoken out after being ejected from the World Series in dramatic scenes.
Game 4 in the Bronx took an incredible turn when Betts leaped towards the stands to catch a hit from Gleyber Torres at the bottom of the first.
After the Los Angeles star snagged the ball, a New York fan – later identified as Austin Capobianco – forcefully tried to snatch it from his glove. Betts reacted furiously and could be seen shouting in the direction of Copabianco and another Yankees fan who held his arm during the tussle.
The two supporters were soon escorted out of the stadium by security and Copabianco – said to be a 38-year-old season ticket holder from Connecticut – later broke his silence.
‘I just want to watch the game,’ he told The Athletic, shortly before Anthony Volpe’s grand slam turned the game in New York’s favor.
Yankees fans booed as the two fans were led out of the stadium, with some offering them high-fives and handshakes.
Capobianco’s brother, Darren, 29, insisted that he saw Betts’ glove go over the wall as he tried to make the catch.
‘I just see the ball kind of — I don’t want to say (go) up for grabs,’ Darren told The Athletic. ‘And then Mookie was swearing at us. Not good.’
Betts could be seen complaining to the umpires, while the fans pleaded their innocence.
After the ball eventually flew out of his glove and on to the field, it was ruled fan interference and an out.
Copabianco could be seen gritting his teeth as he tried to wrestle the ball out of Betts’ grip, while the fan to his left held the player’s other wrist.
Remarkably, it was not the first time this series that fans have interfered with a hit from Torres.
In the ninth inning of Game 1, Yankees supporters were left furious after a Dodgers fan caught a potential go-ahead homer. Los Angeles went on to win the game in dramatic fashion.
‘Oh man that’s dangerous,’ one fan wrote after Betts’ clash with the supporter. ‘Those fans should be banned for life. No excuse for touching a player.’
‘I’d ban him for life. I’m a Yankees fan and it was gross,’ another added.
‘As a Yankee fan I am embarrassed to see this despicable behavior,’ a third said.
Other fans branded the pair ‘morons’ and ‘a**holes’, with one even claiming they should be charged with assault.
But Ana Flamengo, a Yankees fan from Connecticut, thanked Copabianco for his efforts.
‘I saw him being walked out,’ Flamengo told The Athletic. ‘I told him he was my hero for trying to save the Yankees. It’s the championship game.’
The Yankees overcame an early deficit and avoided getting swept with an 11-4 win at home. The two teams face off in the Bronx again on Wednesday night before the series heads back to Los Angeles on Friday.
The last team to come back from 3-0 down to win the World Serie was the 2004 Boston Red Sox against the Yankees.
