Report: Yankees Security Guards Told Toronto Police, Security to Remove Fans at Blue Jays Game

The Yankees’ security entourage is so good that it can even spot trouble north of the border.

Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reports that the Yankees’ security detail had a hand in Blue Jays fans being kicked out of a recent game for heckling pitchers as they were warming up in the bullpen.

Security guards traveling with the Yankees pointed out the fans and asked Toronto police and ballpark security to remove them from the game, and they did, according to Kennedy.

The situation was brought to light by 30-year-old fan Justin Jackson, who was sitting nearby and wrote about it on his blog. Kennedy tracked him down for further details.

Yankees security guard Mark Kafalas told Kennedy that the fans were also throwing peanuts into the bullpen, and that later in the game, “someone threw a full beer from the second deck,” according to Kennedy.

“Heckling is heckling — it’s baseball,” Kafalas said. “But when people start throwing things, it becomes dangerous.”

Kennedy said the Blue Jays said an usher also saw peanuts being thrown.

Jackson, the blogger, said he didn’t see any objects thrown, and when he asked the Yankees security guards what was going on, they didn’t answer and told him to go back to his seat “or he too would be removed from the game,” according to Kennedy.

A Yankees spokesman said the team does travel with two of its own security guards, whose role is to make sure players, staff and families remain safe.

Kafalas said that the Yankees having the extra security is unusual, “But we’re the Yankees. Sometimes we draw attention.”

Jackson said he filed a formal complaint with the Blue Jays and plans to follow up, Kennedy reports.