The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry escalated for all the wrong reasons

On Saturday night, the New York Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 3-1 to earn their first win against their historic rivals this season. However, the game will largely be defined by one fan’s blatant disregard for being classy.

A Yankees fan decided to throw a baseball at Boston’s Alex Verdugo. Verdugo was obviously upset at the move. Red Sox manager Alex Cora had to escort his team off the field to avoid escalating the situation.

There were several other fans in attendance, however, who kept the rivalry strictly to just a game. They, along with stadium security, ensured that the perpetrator was removed from the stands. However, that doesn’t take away from what has really gone on behind all of this.

The reality is, since fans have been allowed back into sporting venues, there have been several instances where spectator behavior has spiraled out of control. Not just in baseball but other sports as well.

In the NBA, we saw a Boston Celtics fan chuck a water bottle in the direction of Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving. While it was well known that Irving was not fond of his time in Boston, it most certainly did not warrant a bottle being thrown at him. Moreover, fans of the Utah Jazz were ejected for inappropriate behavior and racism.

While this incident doesn’t quantify to that extent, it’s another chapter of fan behavior that spirals out of control and goes into the book of why a sporting event can be both fun and a nightmare for those involved.

It takes one individual’s actions to set everyone off, and the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is no different

What do these fans hope to get by acting a fool for everyone to see and getting their fifteen minutes of fame? Is being on the front page of ESPN or being the story of the morning worth jeopardizing your reputation?

Furthermore, are these athletes just your form of entertainment, or are they humans who are playing a game to provide for their families? The correct choice would be the latter, and for those who believe the former is the right choice, you should be ashamed of yourself. Also, just because you pay for a ticket, does not entitle you to behavior that resembles petulance and vindictiveness.

This isn’t the first time fans in Yankee Stadium hurled something at Red Sox players. If you will recall Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS, following Alex Rodriguez‘s slapping of Bronson Arroyo‘s glove and being called out, Yankee fans tossed bottles and other debris on the field, causing security to run on the field and prevent any further damage.

Boston fans aren’t oblivious to throwing items on the field either, but it really doesn’t matter what the teams are and the location. If that ball had not hit a Red Sox player and instead injured a child, can anyone just imagine what would have happened? The fights in the stands would have been horrific.

At the end of the day, the Yankees won the game, and the Red Sox lost. That should be the main story. Instead, we have to hear yet another story about some fan who felt he was bigger than the game and wanted his glory. Well, he got it alright, in the forms of handcuffs and humiliation.