No one has ever mistaken sports fans to be a calm bunch, especially those of big-market teams. However, on April 16, some New York Yankees fans got hostile over the team’s performance and took things to a new level. During an 8-2 loss (which was embarrassing enough), Yankees fans made fools of themselves, the organization, and the city as a whole… all in the span of an hour or so.
An Awful New York Showing
The Yankees had an open spot in the rotation to start their weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays. This occurred after the team optioned Domingo German following two rough starts. With little starting pitching depth on the team and top prospects Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia either hurt or unavailable, Manager Aaron Boone decided to start an opener in Nick Nelson. He was followed by Michael King, a young pitcher who excelled in relief of German earlier in the season. King pitched well enough, but Nelson allowed two runs in the first inning, and the Rays never looked back.
On the offensive side, things were terrible. The Yankees have had a rough start offensively to 2021, but in this game, they had just one hit through the first six innings against Michael Wacha, a veteran who carried a 6.62 earned run average into the game 2020. Add in three defensive errors, two by second baseman Rougned Odor, and it was an ugly night.
The pending loss would give the Yankees a record of 5-8. Not only was that the worse in the AL East, but the Yankees also moved down to last in the American League. Just the Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Colorado Rockies have a worse winning percentage. So, it is understandable why Yankees fans, who are used to winning, would be upset about the club’s start.
Yankee Fans’ Inexcusable Actions
In the bottom of the eighth inning, as Clint Frazier was batting for New York, the game was momentarily paused. The reason? Yankees fans in the left-field bleachers executed some bad ideas. A ton of baseballs were thrown by the spectators onto the field, near Rays left fielder Austin Meadows. Center fielder Brett Phillips was also close by. It is unclear where these fans got all the baseballs, but it was an ugly scene all-around.
These were the actions that received the most attention from the media, but it was not the only thing done by disgruntled Yankees fans. After foul balls hit soon after the game resumed, fans started chanting “throw it back” towards fans who caught the balls. Other teams practice this, but did it make any sense after the previous situation? Not at all. It made the Yankee Stadium environment even more toxic for the rest of the game.
The Aftermath
The Yankees went on to lose the game, and everyone on the team was embarrassed. The Rays have had their number since the start of 2020 (on Saturday they followed the loss with another), and this was only the first game of a three-game set between the two. In the same way that the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry was dormant and depressing last year, the Rays and Yankees rivalry is on between the players, but New York’s play is making this less of a rivalry, and more of a one-sided affair.
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