AJ Hinch to pull Astros off field if Yankees fans throw objects
NEW YORK --Astros manager AJ Hinch says he will remove his team from the field if fans at Yankee Stadium again throw objects at Houston players.
Right fielder Josh Reddick said fans tossed water bottles, baseballs and other objects at him during Game 3 on Tuesday night.
"I will pull the team off the field if we get in that situation again where bottles are being thrown and balls are being thrown and it becomes unruly," Hinch said Thursday before Game 4. "There's other ways to support your home team, and this place does as good a job as anybody to trying to police that while also trying to create an environment that's all pro Yankees. It would be a very ugly scene for baseball, a very ugly seen for the Yankees, if one of our guys was hit by something from the upper deck. Something tragic could happen and nobody wants that."
A warning message was shown on large center-field video board before the game: "Please be advised that it is illegal to throw any substance or object in the stadium. Violators face ejection and a permanent ban from Yankee Stadium, as well as criminal and civil penalties."
An audio recording from Yankees manager Aaron Boone imploring fans to "please don't throw objects onto the field'' was played after the second inning.
New York fans erupted after a replay review changed Edwin Encarnacion's infield hit leading off the eighth to a groundout. Houston went on to win 4-1 and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
"I went out on the field the other day I wanted the umpires to know that it was becoming a dangerous situation," Hinch said Thursday before game 4. "Our guys have reported both in the bullpen and in the outfield, you could see the stuff thrown on the field. There's no place for that. Both teams will agree. And it's really hard to stop fans from doing that. But it's also very dangerous. MLB is aware. We're aware."
Reddick homered off Luis Severino in the second inning for a 2-0 lead. Fans directed insults at him when he went to right
"You throw a baseball hard enough and hit somebody in the head when they're not looking, it could do some damage to the player, so it's definitely disrespectful and at the same time very unsafe," Reddick said after the game.
He also said he was subject to verbal abuse.
"It's a matter of all kinds of different things here, but you're used to that for nine innings. Pretty standard," Reddick said. "They're all yelling at the same time, so it all kind of mumbles together."
