The World Series is over, but the New York Yankees fan who tried to snatch the ball from Mookie Betts is still a major topic of conversation on social media.
But now, after the initial shock of the incident itself and the fan’s subsequent ejection from Game 5 at Yankee Stadium, fans have noticed another strange detail from the viral incident.
Footage that has circulated online has focused on Yankees fan Austin Capobianco trying to pry open the Dodgers player’s glove to free the ball in the first inning of game four.
But as fans have pointed out, in the left corner of the images, another Yankee fan appears to be wearing a sliding glove that baseball players use to protect their hands when running between bases.
The gloves have additional padding and are designed to minimize the risk of friction injuries with players lunging toward the base, leading with their hands.
Fans spotted a Yankees fan (left) wearing a sliding glove in a World Series game.
The fan was near the fan who tried to rip the ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove.
The fan in question drew a lot of attention on social media when people noticed his glove.
But interestingly, there is no obvious reason for a fan to wear one in the stands while watching a game.
“An underrated aspect of the crazy Yankees fan trying to steal the ball from Betts is the guy next to him with a Tiffany blue EVoshield slider glove,” said one fan on social media.
Another wrote: ‘By far the strangest thing about this picture is the guy on the left wearing a sliding glove. Yankees fans are 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 directly think that they are on the team.
And another post on X said: ‘Of course they kicked out the fan. It’s classy that Mookie Betts said the play wasn’t relevant since the Dodgers lost. My big question, why is the guy on the left wearing one of those oven mitts to run bases 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 organization history.
The Yankees seemed poised to keep the series alive, taking a 5-0 lead on home runs by Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm and Giancarlo Stanton.
An underrated aspect of the crazy Yankees fan trying to steal the ball from Betts is the guy next to him in a Tiffany blue EVoshield sliding glove. pic.twitter.com/z6XuubwUSC
– Evan (aka Ebo) (@EBoKnowss) October 30, 2024
But in the bottom of the fifth, errors in the field by Judge, Anthony Volpe and Gerrit Cole allowed the Dodgers to even the scores.
As for Capobianco, he was banned from returning for Game 5 and said he was “upset” because he couldn’t give the tickets to his younger brother.
And from there, the Dodgers could not be denied. The team will return to Los Angeles on Thursday with a parade planned in downtown Los Angeles on Friday.