Dodgers players and personnel told The Post that the Yankees should severely discipline their two fans who aggressively grabbed Mookie Betts’ glove and arm in Game 4, and a couple Dodgers suggested the duo should never see the inside of a ballpark again.
The Yankees removed the pair, identified as Austin Capobianco and John Peter, who tried to remove the ball hit by Gleyber Torres from Betts’ glove in the first inning. The team also took away their tickets for Game 5 and gave them to a pediatric cancer patient, his younger brothers and his mom, and is considering further action, a Yankees spokesman said.
“It should be an instant lifetime ban. They should never be allowed in any ballpark ever again,” Dodgers star Max Muncy told The Post. “If it’s an accidental thing where you’re trying to catch the ball and you bump a [player], that’s one thing. But in that scenario, you have two guys trying to grab Mookie’s glove and then his hand — that’s a lifetime ban.
“That’s borderline assault. You could file [charges] for that,” Muncy added.
A couple of other Dodgers people wondered what would have happened if Betts had been injured in the incident, which isn’t out of the question considering he was in the air and his arms were extended. Had he been hurt, these two fans might have tainted this whole World Series, a la the 2017 Astros championship, a couple other Dodgers people mentioned. (The Dodgers were the ones who lost that 2017 World Series.)
“It was absolutely ridiculous — banned for life, whatever it is, there has to be some disciplinary action,” Dodgers infielder Gavin Lux said. “You can’t grab a player’s arm and hold on. There’s no room for that.”
The fans showed no remorse talking to ESPN, and even suggested there was premeditation, with one of them telling the outlet, “We always joke about the ball in our area. We’re not going to go out of our way to attack. If it’s in our area, we’re going to ‘D’ up.”
Some Dodgers people remarked how fortunate we all are that Betts was uninjured. Betts himself declined to talk about it before Game 5, saying only, “I don’t [care].”
“Thankfully, Mookie’s OK, that’s the biggest thing,” Muncy said.
Teoscar Hernandez was amused in real time, but upon further review, the Dodgers outfielder realized the potential gravity of the situation.
“I’ve never seen anything like it, but now that I see the pictures and videos and all that stuff, it’s a little crazy that happens,” Hernandez said. “…Fans know they cannot do that, what they did [Tuesday] night.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was pleased with the outcome.
“We didn’t need them to be here, so [the Yankees] refunded their tickets,” Roberts said. “So that’s perfect, right?”
Alex Verdugo had plenty of experience playing at Yankee Stadium as a visitor with the Red Sox before he was traded to the Yankees. The veteran outfielder said the fan interference was “extreme” in this instance, but not a reason to worry about player safety.
“I feel like that is what you expect out here,” Verdugo said. “You expect some unique things. At the end of the day, I didn’t feel it was too serious. I think Mookie kind of shook it off, too. That’s just kind of the passion New Yorkers have.”
Some Dodgers disagreed, expressing dismay that the guys clad in Yankees gear received a hero’s reception from some around them. They weren’t happy about that.
“Everyone’s high-fiving them — that’s not something to high-five about,” Muncy said. “You could have really hurt our right fielder.”
