Things got ugly at the end of the New York Yankees’ win over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, with Guardians players confronting unruly fans who were throwing trash.
The Yankees rallied in the bottom of the ninth to score two runs in a 5-4 walkoff win over Cleveland, but multiple incidents marred the comeback. First, Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan was shaken up after colliding with the left field fence while chasing Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s game-tying double. Some Yankee fans were apparently taunting the injured Kwan, which prompted center fielder Myles Straw to climb the Yankee Stadium fence and exchange words with several people in the stands.
Myles Straw gets up on the wall and gives Yankees fans a piece of his mind for how they treated Kwan after he banged into the wall
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) April 23, 2022
More drama followed, this time in right field. Gleyber Torres delivered the game-winning single on a line drive to Cleveland right fielder Oscar Mercado. As the winning run scored, several fans in the right field seats began throwing items at Mercado. The outfielder responded by verbally confronting some of the fans, prompting security to intervene.
Way to ruin the moment. I know my Yankee friends don't accept them. pic.twitter.com/0ZxAGeCXYg
— Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) April 23, 2022
After the game, Mercado said he did not take issue with trash talk during games, but felt a line had been crossed when garbage was being thrown and fans were cheering that opposing players were injured.
Guardians outfielder Oscar Mercado describes what happened when Yankees fans started throwing trash at him on the field & what caused the whole incident.
(via @BallySportsCLE)pic.twitter.com/nVjeeCkadK
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 23, 2022
“There was a specific Yankee fan in left field that was celebrating Kwan getting hurt,” Mercado said. “It’s just acts of violence. You can’t say stuff like that, especially when someone gets hurt. I just let him know, listen man, you can chirp all you want, but don’t celebrate someone getting hurt. That’s classless.
“You can root for your team all you want. I’m not denying that. Honestly, I think it’s good for the game when people are diehard fans, but do it the right way. There’s a right way of doing things. It’s easy for them, standing outside of the field, to be able to do and say whatever they want, but we’re the ones that are out there busting our butts day in and day out, and the last thing we need is people cheering for us to get hurt or people trying to get us hurt by throwing things on the field.”
Mercado is spot on with his comments. Players don’t mind trash talk, and some even enjoy the banter that sometimes takes place between fans and opposing players. There was no reason for Yankee fans to throw trash on the field or celebrate an injured opponent, especially after their team had just won.
