The World Series is over but the New York Yankees fan who tried to prize the ball from Mookie Betts is still proving a major talking point on social media.
But now, after the initial shock of the incident itself and the fan’s subsequent banning from Game 5 at Yankee Stadium, supporters have noticed another strange detail from the viral incident.
The pictures that have circulated online have centered on the Yankees fan, Austin Capobianco, trying to force the Dodgers player’s glove open to knock the ball free in the first inning of the fourth game.
But as fans have pointed out, in the left corner of the pictures another Yankees fan appears to be wearing a sliding mitt that baseball players use to protect their hands when running between bases.
The mitts have additional padding and are designed to minimize the risk of any injuries from friction with players diving in towards the base, leading with their hands.
Fans spotted a Yankee supporter (left) wearing a sliding mitt at a World Series game
The fan was near the supporter who tried to rip the ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove
The fan in question got plenty of social media attention as people noticed his glove
But there is, amusingly, no obvious reason for a supporter to be wearing one in the stands while watching a game.
‘An underrated aspect of the crazy Yankee fan attempting to steal the ball from Betts is the guy right next to him wearing a Tiffany Blue evoshield sliding mitt,’ one fan said on social media.
Another wrote: ‘By FAR the weirdest thing in this picture is the guy on the left wearing a sliding mitt. Yankees fans are such a bunch of Muppets.’
A different fan said: ‘Lost in the Mookie Betts fan interference debacle is another fan right next to them wearing an EVOSHIELD SLIDING MITT. These people straight up think they’re on the team.’
And another post on X said: ‘Of course the fan got ejected. Classy that Mookie Betts said the play was not relevant as the Dodgers lost. My big question, why is the guy on the left wearing one of those baserunning oven mitts in the stands?’
While the Dodgers lost that game in question, they emerged victorious on Wednesday night to record their eighth World Series title in the organization’s history.
The Yankees looked set to keep the series alive, racing into a 5-0 lead with home runs from Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm and Giancarlo Stanton.
An underrated aspect of the crazy Yankee fan attempting to steal the ball from Betts is the guy right next to him wearing a Tiffany Blue evoshield sliding mitt pic.twitter.com/z6XuubwUSC
— Evan (aka Ebo) (@EBoKnowss) October 30, 2024
But in the bottom of the fifth, errors in the field from Judge, Anthony Volpe and Gerrit Cole allowed the Dodgers to level the scores.
As for Capobianco, he was banned from returning for Game 5, and said he was ‘p***ed off’ he couldn’t give the tickets to his younger brother.
And from there on, the Dodgers weren’t to be denied. The team is set to return to Los Angeles on Thursday with a parade planned in downtown LA on Friday.
