‘Childish’ Yankees fans pelt baseballs onto the field forcing umpires to halt play as team falls behind Tampa Bay Rays
- Several Yankees fans pelted baseballs onto the field during the eighth innings of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night
- The incident prompted a pause in play, stunning players and alarming umpires
- Commentators described the action as ‘disgraceful’; MLB viewers took to Twitter similarly panning the fans, calling them ‘childish’
New York Yankees fans have been slammed after they pelted baseballs onto the field during Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, forcing a pause in play.
The ‘disgraceful’ incident occurred during the eighth inning of the game, which took place at Yankee Stadium.
The stadium was at reduced capacity, with just 10,202 fans in the stands – but many came clutching baseballs ready to throw onto the field in the event their team went down to the Rays.
The Yankees have struggled since their 2021 season commenced on April 1, with their fans irate at their relatively lackluster performance.
New York Yankees fans have been slammed after they pelted baseballs onto the field during Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, forcing a pause in play. The game is pictured in play
The stadium was at reduced capacity, with just 10,202 fans in the stands. Pictured: Spectators at Yankee Stadium. They are not the fans who pelted the baseballs from the stands’
And as the team battled 2-8, supporters saw a chance to chuck the baseballs from the stands, staging a tantrum.
Video circulating on social media shows stunned players standing on the field as the balls are thrown in their direction.
Umpires were forced to halt play, commentators calling the match could be heard blasting the undignified spectators.
‘Please refrain from throwing objects onto the field!’ an announcer was heard saying after the first balls were pelted.
‘That’s just wrong!’ commentators could be heard saying in televised coverage as play was paused.
‘Someone’s going to get hurt too, the umpires should take the players of the field. That’s disgraceful!’
The balls (circled in red) are seen on the field after being thrown out by fans
On Twitter, other MLB fans were left similarly outraged, with one writing: ‘Disgraceful. Don’t just eject them, arrest them for assault’.
Only a small number of Yankees supporters engaged in act, with others left red-faced by the action.
One fellow Yankees fan the tweeted from the stands: ‘I’m here now and this is embarrassing’.
And Yankees supporters watching at home were also left unimpressed by the actions of their fellow fans.
‘As a Yankees fan I’m confident that we have the worst fanbase in sport,’ one wrote.
The MLB has not released a statement regarding the incident.
It’s unclear whether the fans who pelted the baseballs were identified and ejected from the stadium.
Players were seen standing stunned after the the fans pelted the baseballs onto the field