As millions of viewers watched in amazement as two New York Yankees fans ripped a baseball from Mookie Betts’ glove on Tuesday, Jeff Maier put his son to bed.

Maier, who said he has watched every Yankees postseason game live, happened to miss this particular game. But when he caught the replay, he could relate. Sort of.

Maier, now 40 years old, was only 12 when his full name — Jeffrey Meier – was infamously associated with the Yankees dynasty of the 1990s. In the eighth inning of Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series, Maier reached over the right field wall of the former Yankee Stadium to catch a fly ball from Derek Jeter, ruling it as a game-tying home run to the Baltimore. The Orioles upset. The Yankees went on to win the game and the World Series.

But 28 years later, Maier was as perplexed as anyone when he saw a replay of the two Yankees fans interfering with Betts, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, in Game 4.

“How can I say this… I don’t really know what to think,” Maier said The Athletics on Wednesday. “I definitely think back to my experience as a 12-year-old, and I can think of how everything became me and the ball in that moment. … It was really just an instinctive way to get the ball.

“Watching yesterday was of course very different. “I think there may have been an initial plan on that fan’s part to get the ball, but once it’s in the glove…I can’t really understand what the thought process was there, especially from two adults.”

Austin Capobianco, 38, of Connecticut, was ejected after the incident, which occurred on a foul ball hit by Gleyber Torres in the bottom of the first inning. Another fan, whom ESPN identified as John Peter, was also ejected. Major League Baseball banned both fans from attending Game 5 on Wednesday, a league spokesman said.

Maier spoke with levity and lightheartedness as he compared his 1996 moment to Tuesday’s scene. He said he doesn’t mind it being referenced every time a similar fan interference incident occurs. In fact, he said that his early moment of fame had a positive impact on his life and helped him stay connected with friends and colleagues.

“It’s become very easy for me to talk about now that I’m 40 and I have my own children and I’m quite far removed from that event,” Maier said.

As for what he might tell the two fans involved with Betts on Tuesday, Maier thinks the opposite.

‘I don’t know if there’s much to say. From their perspective, I’m sure they have a lot of regret and remorse,” he said. “I’m sure what may have felt good at the time probably doesn’t play that well for them today.

“My advice is don’t do that again, and I’m sure it was a costly mistake for them. I know all three of my boys asked me if I wanted to go to the World Series and when I showed them how expensive the seats were, those guys are probably out of a lot of money right now and probably not feeling too good because they’re alone but the first batter of the game for the Yankees.”

Maier credited being a father as a big part of his perspective on his fan interference moment. It helps that they can now relate in age and hobby: His oldest son is 14, the middle boy is 12 and the youngest is 10, and their bond with baseball is “special,” he said.

“They are very aware of what I did as a 12-year-old,” Maier said with a laugh, adding that they are all adult Yankees fans despite living in New England.

Maier said even the most passionate fans need a line, and “that line probably grabs him out of hand.” But Maier still understands the impulse. Every fan, especially one who plays the sport, will have the urge to react to a ball in the air, he said. A baseball diehard’s heart always skips a beat at the crack of the bat, even if it’s just a lazy fly ball off Torres’ bat.

Two Yankees fans wrestle the ball out of Betts’ glove during Game 4. Both fans are later ejected. (Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)

Maier would know. Years after reaching above Tony Tarasco’s head to hit Jeter’s home run over the wall, Maier was a Division III baseball star, breaking Wesleyan (Conn.) University’s career hits record and finishing his four years with a career batting average of .373.

So, would Maier at age 40 make the same decision as his 12-year-old self to grab a home run ball if it could help the Yankees win a World Series?

“I think I might tear a hamstring trying to move that fast, compared to me as a younger guy,” Maier said again, laughing, adding, “I couldn’t say yes and I couldn’t say no.

“The instinct is there, the tendons and stuff are probably not as loose as they used to be.”

(Top photo: Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)