The New York Yankees hosted the Astros on Tuesday for the first time since the 2019 ALCS and the ensuing cheating scandal. Given the long wait and the circumstances surrounding the sign-stealing scandal, Yankees fans turned out in full force to boo, jeer and heckle the Astros players.
But, apparently, the Astros have tried to get MLB to tone down the harsh treatment they’ve received from fans across baseball.
A recent report from Sports Illustrated featured a fan who showed up to Tuesday’s game in a full Oscar the Grouch costume. This fan was shown across social media in the lead-up to the game, but once he took his seat, he was told to lose the costume by Yankee Stadium security.
one yankees fan ordered an oscar the grouch costume so he could bang a trash can while the astros are hitting pic.twitter.com/gNJeqlle0P
— joon 이준엽 (@joonlee) May 4, 2021
The reason? The Astros complained to MLB. Via SI:
When he arrived wearing the costume and carrying a sign reading YOU AIN’T STEALING THIS COSTUME TRASHTROS, he drew laughs and cameras. Unfortunately, he also drew attention from security. “Our policy changed,” he said the guard told him. Taub said the guard added that the Astros had complained to MLB about fans in other cities, and MLB had told the Yankees to tighten their rules.
Astros officials did tell Sports Illustrated that they were not aware of any requests to MLB about curtailing heckling from fans. But manager Dusty Baker did have an over-the-top, dramatic reaction to inflatable trash cans in Los Angeles earlier in the season.
An inflatable trash can was also confiscated at Yankee Stadium.
The first casualty of the Yankees-Astros game: an inflatable trash can confiscated by security pic.twitter.com/Ip6fK6xVYz
— Stephanie Apstein (@stephapstein) May 4, 2021
The obvious response, though, is that if the Astros didn’t want to be heckled, they probably shouldn’t have cheated in the first place.
