Martin Rogers

FOX Sports Insider

Oh sport, and all its fine lines that matter so much. A blade of grass here, an extra lick of paint on a stand there, a split second on a clock.

In baseball, there is the line between fair and foul, which can separate glory from disaster, and then also the line between fan behavior that is either vociferously enthusiastic (honest) or dangerously annoying (wrong).

What happened to Mookie Betts and some New York Yankees fans on Tuesday night undoubtedly falls into the latter category. In the first inning of Game 4 of the World Series, Betts jumped to grab a pop-up from Gleyber Torres along the right-field wall, but after grabbing the ball, front row fan Austin Capobianco yanked him out his glove, while he caught the ball next to him. him, John Peter grabbed Betts’ non-catching arm.

Both fans were ejected and Capobianco was reportedly told he would be arrested if the pair attempted to participate in Game 5 (8:08 p.m. ET on FOX). If that is the only punishment handed out, it appears to be heavily on the lenient side considering the level of interference and the potential injury that may have been inflicted on Los Angeles Dodgers star Betts.

It’s a thorny issue, and it’s easy to see why the immediate ban was put in place to solve the immediate problem — Game 5 is the final game of the season at Yankee Stadium, even if New York is able to win the series to keep it alive – to perhaps buy time to decide on something stricter.

Yankees fan pulls the ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove in Game 4

(RELATED: Yankees ban fans from Game 5 who caught Betts)

Above all, it is thorny because of the thin line mentioned earlier. There is no excuse for what Capobianco and Peter did, on the contrary. If a ban of several seasons or even more were introduced, there would be no argument here.

But what’s a little alarming to consider is that, aside from the two key plays that exceeded any reasonable standard, there were elements of what happened that actually spoke to what is magical about baseball.

The fact that fans are so close to the action that they can literally be in the airspace of the playing field is part of the time-honored lore of baseball. The fact that you can catch a ball on the way to the stands and, heck, if you do, you get to keep it forever. The fact that the fans care so much, that the soul of their team runs through their veins, especially as November approaches, especially if it’s the Series, especially if it’s a storied rivalry like New York and Los Angeles.

(RELATED: Complete World Series coverage)

But amid all the excitement, there has to be some kind of decorum. Yell, cheer, yell, scream and insult if you really have to, but let’s have a very clear understanding of what the role of the fan is.

We talk about the 12th man and the fans who are part of the fabric of their ball club. They’re part of the show, of course, because we all remember COVID and empty stadiums and how weird and creepy everything was.

Part of the entertainment, yes, but not part of the game, at least not in any way other than getting on an opponent’s nerves with a communal roar. Sing “Who’s Your Daddy” all you want, but for God’s sake, stay away from the players, a statement that shouldn’t be made but apparently does.

Can the Yankees come back and win the World Series?

Do not touch gloves unless you are offering them as a fist bump. Don’t open anyone’s glove to get a ball, whether it’s that of a fellow fan or a player. Don’t run onto the field, because that’s stupid and a waste of time, and you’ll be tackled violently and then thrown out. And don’t do anything that could affect the outcome of the match, even if you’re a cute smiling kid like Jeffrey Maier in 1996.

Being a fan is a privilege, even if it is expensive, with interest in this World Series at such a fever pitch. Paying for those tickets does not provide you with an additional concession or waive the code of conduct requirement.

How many iterations of what happened to Betts do you think would have to happen before any changes were made to the baseball experience, for all the tens of thousands of games that have passed without issue over time?

This is a fantastic World Series, highlighted by the presence of Shohei Ohtani, by Freddie Freeman’s impossible hot streak, by the Yankees’ electrifying resurgence in Game 4, and the tantalizing possibility that this thing might not quite be over yet .

In the midst of all this, it honestly hurts a little to have to tackle such a disappointing peripheral issue like this. Sometimes that’s just the nature of things. And sometimes it can be a memory.

Whether the ball is foul or not, let’s keep the behavior honest.

Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX.

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