A New York Yankees fan got a little too involved in the action Tuesday night.
A fan sitting behind home plate at Yankee Stadium was ejected in the eighth inning during the middle of New York catcher Gary Sanchez’s at-bat. The reason? According to Sanchez and Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, the fan was yelling out pitch locations to Sanchez as Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Austin Pruitt threw home.
Video of the fan yelling can be found here.
“You could definitely hear the guy scream, ‘Outside, outside!'” Sanchez said through an interpreter after the game, via the New York Post. Ramos confirmed Sanchez’s account, and that the fan’s shouts were accurate.
“That was not professional,” Ramos said, via ESPN.com. “If you come to the game, you’re asked to enjoy the game. Everybody’s supposed to see the ball and just react with pitches. … So, to me, it’s like cheating.”
Home plate umpire Dan Bellino stopped play after the count ran full on Sanchez, walking to the backstop to speak with a security guard about having the fan removed. Play resumed after a 90-second delay while the fan was being ejected, and Sanchez followed with a bloop RBI single to plate the Yankees’ fifth run in an eventual 6-1 win.
Apparently, the fan wasn’t very subtle about his methods, as Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he heard the yells from the dugout.
“I heard it one or two pitches,” Girardi said. “The first time I heard it, I didn’t think much of it, and the second time I heard it, and that’s when the umpire went back there.”
New York gained a game in the American League East standings after the Red Sox’s loss Tuesday night and now trails first-place Boston by three games.
Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
