A fan who beat Alex Verdugo with a baseball at Yankee Stadium has been banned from all MLB parks for life
The Boston Red Sox fan left defender Alex Verdugo with a baseball thrown at Yankee Stadium and was banned for the rest of his life from attending major league games.
The decision was confirmed on Sunday by spokespersons for the New York Yankees and Major League Baseball.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora briefly kicked his team off the pitch at 6pm on Saturday night after Verdugo was hit in the back with a ball thrown into the left-hander. He was not injured.
"While the Yankees enjoy the spirit and enthusiasm of our fans in our various tournaments - especially the Red Sox - the reckless, uncontrollable and dangerous behavior that puts the safety of players, stadium staff or other colleagues at risk will not be tolerated," the Yankees said in a statement on Sunday.
"There is absolutely no place at Yankee Stadium. Everyone's safety at Yankee Stadium, including visitors to the stations and players on the field, will always be a priority for the Yankees organization every time we open our doors."
An angry Verdugo shouted at the fans and was stopped by first base coach Tom Goodwin as the game was reserved for the rain that was driving. A fan was taken out of the ballpark.
"When I got out of there, it was noisy and bad - from both sides," Cora said Sunday. "I just needed to silence him. That's all the reason I took everyone off the field. I'm like, where he is right now mentally, he can't play right now. There's no chance."
Verdugo said he threw the ball to the stands for a young Red Sox fan, but a Yankees fan cut it off and threw it on the pitch, hitting a player playing outside.
"It's ridiculous, embarrassing and unacceptable," New York manager Aaron Boone said afterwards.
Verdugo returned to the left-back when the game resumed following a conversation with the referees near the Boston excavation site.
“It felt like it was directed at me and it didn’t sit well with me,” he said.
New York won 3-1 in a game called six innings due to heavy rain.
"Obviously the player was upset, and it's understandable," whistleblower Jeff Nelson told the pool reporter on Saturday night. "We have tried to make sure that there is safety on the left side, and that the matter has been discussed by the security forces and to measure that by continuing the game and keeping the game going, we know we have continuous rain.
INJ.com reported on Sunday that the fan had not been arrested.
"I'm amazed that nothing happened, let's just put it this way," Cora said.
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