On Friday, Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce, talked about the Mookie Betts fan interference incident from the 2024 World Series. The Dodgers won baseball's biggest prize for the eighth time in franchise history, beating the New York Yankees 4-1 in the series.
The incident in question occurred during the first inning of Game 4 at Yankee Stadium. The home team's leadoff hitter, Gleyber Torres hit a foul ball to right field, which was caught by a leaping Mookie Betts just as it was about to go into the crowd.
However, a pair of Yankees fans tried to grab Betts' glove, forcing the ball out of his grasp. The umpires immediately ruled fan interference and confirmed that Torres was out.
Talking about his recollection of watching the incident unfold from his position at first base, Freeman said:
"So I'm at first [base], you know, and I'm watching [the play unfold], yelling 'You got room!'. He (Mookie Betts) can't hear me anyways, I don't even know why I was saying that. That's just what you're taught to do." Freeman said [0:25]
"So I see him catch it, and he's not coming back into play, and I'm like 'What is going on?'. Then I can see them (Yankees fans) trying to rip his glove open and then I see the ball go flying out of his glove. I was like 'What just happened?'." Freeman added [0:35]
Max Muncy calls for "lifetime ban" for fans involved in Mookie Betts' interference incident
After the aforementioned incident took place, the fans that tried to force the ball out of Mookie Betts' glove were reportedly asked to leave the field immediately. However, when talking about the incident on November 4's episode of "Foul Territory," Max Muncy said that he believed the punishment should have been much harsher.
"First off, thankfully Mookie didn't get hurt," Muncy said. "You're talking about your arm hanging over the wall like that. That's very easy to get hyper-extended, snap something. It should have been an instant lifetime ban from all MLB stadiums right there. Instead of saying, 'Oh, he can't come to the next game, but he still gets his season tickets next year.' Muncy said
"That's not really a consequence. ... If they had season tickets, and they're there, they are serious fans, and if you tell them, 'You can't ever come to another baseball game ever again,' that's going to put some serious doubt into people's head, (when they decide) whether or not they want to do something like that." Muncy added
Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the Los Angeles Dodgers eventually got the last laugh as they went on to complete an extraordinary comeback, winning Game 5 at Yankee Stadium and clinching the 2024 World Series in front of the Yankees faithful.