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There’s a famous quote that says, “Win with grace, lose with dignity.” As a team during this postseason, the Yankees have had their fair share of ups and downs, and so have their fans.
Growing up, Derek Jeter was my favorite player and someone I looked up to. He always respected his opponents and didn’t open his mouth when he didn’t need to. All he wanted to do was win. When he won, he remained professional. When he lost, he, well, remained professional. The way Jeter carried himself on the field should be the way the fans do.
It all started in the American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins. In Game Two, the Yankees faced off against Twins’ starter Randy Dobak. As many of you already know, he was an Uber driver before pitching in the majors. In a way of mockery, the fans at the stadium chanted “Uber” towards Dobak when he took the mound. Some took it as a joke, others handed out a lot of criticism for it. If you're not a fan of the Yankees, you probably thought it was cruel, and that’s just the start of disapproval towards Yankees fans this postseason.
Yankees fans chant "Uber" at Twins pitcher Randy Dobnak.
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) October 5, 2019
Dobnak was an Uber driver in the minor leagues as a way to make some extra money.pic.twitter.com/WuyARMpZMB
Twins reliever Tyler Duffey chimed in and said “Yankees fans, they just hate people.” He also added that they threw beer at him and said “a lot of expletives.”
Next we head to the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros. Let’s start off with fans throwing bottles onto the field during play. That is extremely classless and does not embody what a fanbase should act like. Are some people that immature to chuck their trash in the direction of opposing players? In no way am I saying that it’s acceptable to throw trash on any field, but what makes it look even worse for Yankees fans is that they were willing to trash their OWN stadium. Yikes.
The managers of both teams spoke out against the throwing of debris and putting players in harms way. Astros manager, A.J. Hinch, said he’d pull his players off of the field if it happened again. Aaron Boone had to tell his fans to be respectful and not throw things on the field.
Aaron Boone appeared in a scoreboard video and asked Yankees fans not to throw things onto the field.
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) October 18, 2019
Astros outfielder Josh Reddick came out and said the fans at Yankee Stadium go too far. “I think I saw about seven or eight water bottles out in the outfield, two baseballs got thrown from center to left,” Reddick said. “It’s scary. I don’t think a lot of people realize how dangerous that can really be. You throw a baseball hard enough and it hits somebody in the head when you’re not looking, it can do some damage to you as a player. It’s definitely disrespectful and at the same time, unsafe.”
There were also fans who cheered when an Astros player was almost hit by a pitch.
Jose Altuve has been a Yankee killer his whole career. He’s batting a career .291 against them and has always seemed to be there in the big moments. When he came to the plate in Game Four, Yankee fans did not give him the warmest of welcomes. The guy has not done anything to get a chant that vulgar directed at him.
Finally, let’s look to the incident that took place with Zack Greinke before Game Four. The 35-year-old pitcher has struggled with a social anxiety disorder and a fan took some digs at him while he was warming up in the bullpen before the game started. The fan was promptly ejected from the stadium for his crude words.
The Yankees have always represented as a classy organization and a team that prides itself in winning. What has happened in the 2019 playoffs is not what the Yankees stand for, and the actions listed above are childish and give the entire fanbase a bad reputation. The fans need to realize that they exemplify what the Yankee brand is made of. I encourage fans to go to their favorite team’s ballpark and have a great time, but be respectful towards everyone else.