NEW YORK — A fan sitting behind home plate has been ejected from Yankee Stadium for shouting the location of pitches during New York’s 6-1 win over Tampa Bay.
Yankees slugger Gary Sanchez was batting with a full count against Austin Pruitt in the eighth inning Tuesday night when plate umpire Dan Bellino walked to the backstop and spoke to a member of the team’s security staff, directing that the fan be removed. Bellino then walked toward second base and conferred with crew chief Jerry Layne.
Play resumed after a break of about 90 seconds. Sanchez fouled off a pitch, then hit a bloop RBI single.
Sanchez and Rays catcher Wilson Ramos said the fan had been yelling in Spanish: "Outside! Outside!"
Ramos said the spectator’s shouts were accurate.
"That was not professional. If you come to the game, you’re asked to enjoy the game," he said. "Everybody’s supposed to see the ball and just react with pitches … so to me, it’s like cheating."
Both managers praised the ejection.
"Rightfully so. That shouldn’t happen," the Yankees’ Joe Girardi said.
Said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash: "The Yankees handled it really well and got him out of there."
[relatedlinks]
