However, in this case, it was clearly the fault of the so-called 'fan'. And I say that even though the jerk was a 'fan' of the Red Sox, and the athlete in question was a New York Yankee.
This just happened, in the eighth inning of the game between the Sox and the Yanks tonight. The game had been tied 5-5 until this inning. Renteria hit a double to drive in Damon for a 6-5 lead, then someone else walked, which brought up Jason Varitek.
Varitek clubbed one down the right field line. For those of you not familiar with Fewnay Park, the wall from the foul pole to straight-away right is a long curve. Balls can get caught in that curve and just hug the wall for a while. That's what happened to Varitek's hit.
More on the flip.
The ball hugged the wall all the way around that curve. People were reaching over, making a halfhearted attempt to snare the ball--the wall's fairly high there, you're not going to get a ball unless it bounces up a foot or two--and though people shouldn't be interfering with a ball in play we all know it happens.
What shouldn't happen was what did when Gary Sheffield, the Yankees right fielder, came into the picture. He came at the ball from the other direction, bending over and moving forward along the wall to scoop up the ball. Just as Sheffield reached the ball, some idiot reached down and smacked him in the face. It doesn't look like it was even an attempt to get at the ball. The ball was on the ground. Even bent over, Sheffield's face was nowhere near the ground. It looked like a gratuitous slap.
Sheffield, once he fielded the ball and straightened up, gave the 'fan' a hard shove. He then turned and threw the ball to the infield. Then he turned back to the 'fan' and started jawing at him, but security quickly showed up and there wasn't anything else.
They ejected the idiot, nothing was done to Sheffield. They let the play stand--a triple for Varitek, though there might have been a case to send him back to second. Sox are leading, 8-5, in the ninth now, but the Yanks have two men on. It's been a hell of a game so far. And it was marred by some idiot.
I hope nobody tries to pin this on Sheffield or suspend him or anything. Wasn't his fault. Maybe he shouldn't have shoved the idiot, but he did get slapped in the face--I can't blame him.
Why do people who go to sporting events turn into such idiots?