If you watched Game 1 of the World Series on TV Tuesday night, you may have noticed a man in an orange visor and jacket sitting in the front row behind home plate. His name is Laurence Leavy, and he is — believe it or not — a Miami Marlins fan.
Leavy, 58, calls himself “Marlins Man.” He paid $8,000 for his premium seat to Game 1, but he claims Royals officials desperately tried to get him to move or change his clothes. Leavy told Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald that Kauffman Stadium employees offered him a private suite and more in an attempt to get him away from where cameras were shooting.
“The owner of the Royals was extremely upset I was there,” Leavy said.
A Royals spokesman denied that Leavy was asked to leave his seat or change his attire.
Leavy, a Marlins season ticket holder since the team’s first year 1993, says he was not trying to agitate anyone by wearing his team’s colors to an event that had nothing to do with his team. Rather, he has been buying premium seats to Super Bowls, NBA playoff games and MLB playoff games for years.
For those that have been asking..
I love MLB.
I love to do in person what others watch on tv.
I like watching history in person.
Goodnight
— Marlins Man (@Marlins_Man) October 22, 2014
Earlier this year, Leavy traveled across the country to watch 18 baseball games in 16 different cities.
“I never had any kids, nor have any wife,” Leavy said. “You don’t have to pay for a wife and kids, so you have money in the bank.
“I didn’t plan any of this (attention). I’m not selling anything. I’ve been doing this — going to sporting events — pretty much non-stop since 1999. I dated a girl for nine years who hated sports and when that ended, I started going everywhere.”
By all indications, Leavy is just a dude who has a lot of disposable income and likes spending it on going to big-time sporting events. We get that the Royals want to see all royal blue clothing behind home plate, but it’s a free country. The guy paid $8,000 for his seat. Leave him alone.
H/T For the Win
Photo via @KVP_10
