Mookie Betts showed remarkable composure on Tuesday night, when two Yankees fans grabbed him as he leapt to catch a Gleyber Torres pop-up at the right-field wall in the bottom of the first inning of Game 4.
The former Red Sox outfielder originally caught Torres’ ball before Austin Capobianco, 38, grabbed his glove with both hands and yanked the ball from it. His seatmate, John Peter, then took hold of Betts’ other wrist and yanked him up.
The pair were quickly escorted out of Yankee Stadium, but Capobianco, a Yankees season-ticket-holder, initially told ESPN that they’d been informed they were allowed to return for Game 5 on Wednesday.
The Yankees reversed course hours before the game and announced a ban for Capobianco and Peter due to their “egregious and unacceptable physical contact.”
However, they only did so because MLB intervened. Players Association executive director Tony Clark issued a pointed statement, saying the union “will be closely tracking both the response to that incident and the protective measures taken going forward.”
There’s been widespread outrage over the incident, with thousands of fans and several MLB players taking to social media to call for lifetime bans and condemn the behavior.
“The second you forcefully grab a player you should be kicked out and not let back in,” A’s slugger Brent Rooker wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“He honestly had every right,” said ’23 Red Sox first baseman Eric Hosmer in response to a fellow X user who said Betts would’ve been justified to punch Capobianco in the teeth.
Betts last wore a Red Sox uniform half a decade ago, but several current and former Boston players are still in his corner. One told the Herald that it was ‘unacceptable’ that the Yankees wouldn’t issue lifetime bans to Capobianco and Peter. Another praised Betts for how he handled the incident.
‘04 Red Sox infielder Doug Mientkiewicz also weighed in on X.
“Heard that the Yankees are allowing these 2 idiots to attend game 5. Awful look for you Yankees,” he posted on X. “It’s about as bad as your baserunning and defense. It’s that bad!!”
“People need to realize that could have been VERY bad. Betts could have gotten severely hurt. Wrist could have been snapped in half,” Mientkiewicz added in response to a fellow outraged X user.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported that Capobianco and Peters will be refunded for their tickets, which are now going to a 15-year-old Calvin Young, a pediatric cancer patient, and his family.
Alex Cora’s former Red Sox deputy tabbed for difficult managing gig
For Will Venable’s 42nd birthday on Tuesday he received one of the toughest jobs in baseball:
Manager of the Chicago White Sox.
Chicago just finished a historically bad season. With their 121st loss, they broke the Modern Era loss record, set by the 1962 Mets.
The White Sox have long considered Venable a strong managerial candidate. They interviewed him for the role ahead of the 2023 season, but hired Pedro Grifol instead. Grifol was fired in early August, with Grady Sizemore taking the reins in an interim capacity.
Chicago will be something of a homecoming for Venable, who spent several years with the Cubs, as a special assistant to then-president Theo Epstein, first-base coach (‘18-19), and third-base coach (‘20). He then served as Alex Cora’s bench coach for the ‘21-22 Red Sox seasons before spending two seasons as Bruce Bochy’s associate manager on the Texas Rangers, who won their first-ever World Series last year.
Red Sox prospect Brannon blasts off in Arizona Fall League
Red Sox prospect Brooks Brannon showed off some serious power in the Arizona Fall League earlier this week, hitting a 468-foot home run at 113 mph off the bat.
There were only eight Major League home runs that were hit that hard and far. According to MLB, only Aaron Judge’s Aug. 2 round-tripper went further and harder (477 feet, 117.5 mph).
The catcher, 20, is no stranger to showing off his immense power. According to SoxProspects.com, he led all high school hitters with 20 home runs and 91 RBI in 34 games in 2022. He was committed to North Carolina before the Red Sox selected him in the ninth round of that year’s draft.
In 54 games for Single-A Salem this year, he hit six homers, including a 482-footer on June 7. He’s currently the Red Sox’s No. 27 prospect.
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