Sheffield v. Fans Ends With Technical Knock Out

By: Susan Kelly

The final rulings are in on the fight that wasn’t, and for once all parties involved got it absolutely right. The commissioner’s office ruled yesterday that Yankee outfielder Gary Sheffield would not receive any punishment for his part in an incident last Thursday with Boston Red Sox fans at Fenway Park. The ruling came two days after Boston police had announced that they would file misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges against the two fans involved. More importantly, the Red Sox organization came down immediately and definitively against both fans, revoking the season tickets of one and barring another from buying tickets for the rest of this year.

The incident invoked flashbacks to the ugly “Basketbrawl” between fans and members of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, most notably Ron Artest. In fact, Sheffield referred to Artest as his reason for not retaliating against the fan who had stuck his hand over the right field wall at Fenway and struck Sheffield in the face. Known for having one of baseball’s worst tempers, Sheffield showed remarkable restraint in not escalating the incident and he has said that he has no intention of taking the matter any further. Good for you, Gary, you’re learning. Commissioner Bud Selig praised Sheffield for refusing to retaliate and everyone seems to be satisfied with the way the entire matter has been handled. A technical knock out, thankfully devoid of physical damage.

While everyone is busy patting themselves on the back, and deservedly so, let’s not forget the issue at the heart of the matter. After the NBA incident and incidents in recent years where fans have run onto the field and assaulted coaches and umpires during MLB games, it was really getting hard to deny the escalating level of fan misbehavior, and frankly it’s about time that it was taken seriously. It seems that as fans pay obscene prices for tickets, they feel that along with those tickets comes a certain level of entitlement, as if they’ve actually bought a little chunk of the stadium or ballpark itself, and have become kings and queens of their own personal domain.

Well, that ticket may entitle you to complain about the high price of beer or the long lines at the restrooms, but one thing it most emphatically does not do is give you license to interfere with the game action. Fan entitlement begins and ends with your seat in the stands. If a foul ball or one hit for a homer lands in your lap, that’s gravy. Consider yourself fortunate. But you shouldn’t be actively fishing for a ball, especially when doing so brings you into the field of play. An active ball is most definitely not the property of John Q. Fan, it is the sole province of the players on the field. As our parents all, hopefully, told us - if it doesn’t belong to you, don’t touch it.

I’ve never quite understood the mentality that makes fans lean over the wall as far as they can to grab the ball. Never mind the outfielder leaping at the wall or the infielder reaching over the railing, what do they matter? Of course, not being athletically inclined myself, I suppose I’m more in awe than most of the physical prowess displayed by most players. I’m more than happy to watch them make the plays, I have no desire to try and make them myself. But that’s just me. Apparently there is a whole other breed of fan out there who has some uncontrollable need to infuse themselves into the action. As I said, I don’t know where it comes from, but at least in this case the Red Sox have made it clear that it is not acceptable.

In revoking the season tickets of Chris House, the fan who reached over the wall and hit Sheffield, the Red Sox have hopefully sent a message to all fans. Make yourself a part of the game and you’ll find yourself ejected from it. Which is as it should be. Baseball is America’s national pastime, it’s a cherished tradition that has been handed down from one generation to the next. For those of us who share a love for this amazing game, there can be perhaps no greater pleasure than following a classic pitcher’s duel, or watching a star slugger launch yet another moon shot, or best of all, cheering on a perfectly executed double play. That’s what keeps us coming back to the park for more, despite the prices, the parking hassles, and the lines. We’re being given the privilege of watching an incredible game played by amazing athletes. Why can’t we just sit back, relax and enjoy it instead of spoiling it for everyone else?

Maybe we didn’t learn quite everything we needed to know in Kindergarten, but believe it or not we should’ve at least learned the basics of good fan behavior. Don’t stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong, don’t touch what doesn’t belong to you, and play well with others. And if you can’t follow those simple rules, then you’ll have to deal with the consequences, as a pair of fans in Boston learned this week. Hopefully when they show up at a ballpark the next time, they’ll think twice about how they act, and we can all get back to watching the game.

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