The Yankees and Red Sox played through rain and chaos at Yankee Stadium, but one moment stood out above the rest. In the middle of a wet, testy game, Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo was hit in the back by a ball thrown from the stands. Verdugo had tossed his warm-up ball into the crowd toward a Red Sox fan, but a Yankees fan caught it and then launched it back onto the field, striking Verdugo. He exploded in anger, yelling at the stands, while security and cops scrambled to find the fan responsible.
Video showed the guy sitting silently in the upper deck as people around him pointed him out. He seemed overwhelmed but admitted to throwing the ball and was escorted out. The crowd had been chanting “throw it back,” trying to pressure him into tossing it, which he did — straight at Verdugo. That fan is now banned from all 30 MLB stadiums for life. Verdugo, clearly shook, told his manager he turned away for a second, and bam, took a ball to the back. The Red Sox briefly left the field, partly over safety and partly because it was pouring. Corey, likely manager Alex Cora, argued with umpires about sending the team back out amid rising tensions from an angry crowd.
Verdugo is known for chatting with Yankees fans and having fun with them, which made the whole thing more frustrating. He’d even had a friendly back-and-forth with the crowd earlier. Now, he had to go back to his position, turning his back to the same fans who just put him in danger. The incident left a bad taste for players and coaches on both sides. Even Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin was seen expressing frustration about the situation. Throwing balls at players isn’t just stupid, it puts people at risk. Verdugo got hurt, a fan lost his lifetime stadium privileges, and a fun night unraveled fast.