Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Condemn Fans Throwing Trash at Guardians Players After Walk-Off Win

Yankees players and manager Aaron Boone commented after their walk-off win about fans throwing garbage onto the field in the direction of Guardians players.

Max Goodman

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NEW YORK — The crowd at Yankee Stadium roared as Gleyber Torres lined a walk-off single to right-center field on Saturday afternoon, plating Isiah Kiner-Falefa to clinch a 5-4 comeback victory over the Guardians.

That jubilation was short-lived for those in pinstripes, though. 

As the Yankees began celebrating on the infield dirt, mobbing Torres, focus quickly shifted to right field where Cleveland's outfielders were dodging a barrage of beer cans and bottles thrown from fans in the bleachers.

Objects flew in from all directions until members of both teams, along with Yankee Stadium security, got to the scene, motioning to the crowd to stop. Sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton led the charge, putting their hands up as they sprinted toward the warning track.

Immediately following the game, manager Aaron Boone said he still wasn't exactly sure what transpired, but he was the first of many Yankees to condemn what that group of fans did.

"There's no place for throwing stuff on to the field in that situation," Boone said. "Obviously we certainly don't want to put anyone in danger. Love the intensity, but we can't be throwing stuff out in the field."

What happened in right field as the game came to an end was seemingly a direct response to what occurred in left field moments earlier. 

Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan crashed into the fence as he tried to catch a fly ball off the bat of Kiner-Falefa with two outs in the ninth. Shaken up on the play—a game-tying double that scored pinch runner Tim Locastro—Kwan needed attention from Cleveland's training staff and some coaches.

With Kwan still recovering from the play, Guardians outfielder Myles Straw and Oscar Mercado shouted back at fans who were chirping right above the left-field wall. Eventually Straw jumped up, climbing the fence to get in the face of one fan in particular. 

Mercado told reporters after the game that fans were celebrating Kwan being hurt, rather than the result of the play, bringing the Yankees back into the game. Straw added that fans at Yankee Stadium are the "worst fan base on the planet."

Meanwhile, the Yankees were vocal in their clubhouse, lamenting what those fans did. 

"I love the atmosphere. I love the fans. I love everything about them, but we win with class." Kiner-Falefa said after the game. "That's something that this organization is about. It's about class. We'll fix it next time, I hope, but it is what it is. To that point the atmosphere was amazing and everything was great. So we just clean that up next time."

Torres added that it's important to be respectful to the opposing team.

"I feel like we have amazing fans, but in those kind of situations, we just want to respect the opponent. That can't happen again," he said. 

First baseman Anthony Rizzo was also asked about the play. Rizzo was among those in pinstripes that helped escort Guardians players back to their dugout while pieces of trash were being pelted in their direction.

"At the end of the day, we are all athletes and we're all in a fraternity together," Rizzo explained. "We don't want something bad happening to them. I know they don't want anything bad happening to us. It's just about being smart. You don't know what's going on in the shuffle, but our fans are passionate and they bring noise every night and we appreciate that. When beers start flying and things start flying, you just want to get everyone under control as best as you can so things don't escalate more than they have to."

These two teams face off one more time in the Bronx on Sunday as New York looks for a series sweep with their ace, Gerrit Cole, on the mound.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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