Yankees Fan Offered Ridiculous Reason for Taking Ball From Mookie Betts’s Glove

These two Yankees fans were ejected from the stadium after prying the ball out of Mookie Betts's glove.
These two Yankees fans were ejected from the stadium after prying the ball out of Mookie Betts's glove. / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees were able to stay alive in the World Series with an 11-4 victory in Game 4 on Tuesday night. While it was a huge victory for the team, one of the most memorable moments didn't come from any of their players, but rather from two fans who were ejected after prying a foul ball out of Mookie Betts's glove.

In case you missed it, Betts made a nice catch in the first inning, reaching over the wall in foul territory in right field. Two fans quickly started to grab at Betts's glove and his other hand, eventually ripping the ball away from him.

ESPN caught up with the fans, Austin Capobianco and John Peter, at a local bar after their ejection and they offered a ridiculous reason for doing what they did.

"We always joke about the ball in our area," said Capobianco, 38, who was the one who pried the ball out of Betts's glove. "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."

Capobianco had this to say to ESPN about his ejection:

"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."

Betts didn't want to talk too much about that bizarre moment after the game.

"When it comes to the person in play, it doesn't matter," Betts said. "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."

Game 5 is Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. Capobianco, who is a season ticket holder, said he was told they would be allowed to attend.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.