Rob Gronkowski Claims He Went To College With Yankees Fan Who Grabbed Mookie Betts' Glove During World Series

Published|Updated

In a not-so-stunning development, the New York Yankees fan who went viral for interfering with Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts during Game 4 of the World Series is an acquaintance of Rob Gronkowski, at least that's what the four-time Super Bowl winner is claiming.

New York lead-off man Gleyber Torres hit a pop-up down the right-field line during the bottom of the first inning on Tuesday night. Betts went up to make a play on the ball, and momentum carried his glove and the ball over the right-field wall in foul territory, which is when a Yankee fan latched onto his glove and ripped the baseball out of Betts' glove.

Fan interference was rightfully called on the play, but the fan became an instant hero in the Bronx.

Gronkowski was shown the play during an appearance on Wednesday's edition of ‘Up & Adams’ and immediately recognized the fan who grabbed Betts. Gronk claimed he went to Arizona with the man, who he says played for the Wildcats' club hockey team.

"This is actually the first time I'm seeing this live and here's a little fun fact - That guy right there grabbing Mookie Betts's glove was my friend in college," the former New England Patriot told Adams"He was on the ice hockey team, the club Arizona Wildcats team, and let me tell you, the whole hockey team, they were absolute maniacs."

"Him doing that represents him very well, I mean, he is all-in for his teams, he is all-in for the Yankees. I remember him talking about the Yankees all the time and how he loves them so much."

Gronk later called the fan "a beauty" and congratulated him for "shining" when the moment came before eventually calling the behavior unacceptable.

Both fans who made contact with Betts on the play will not be allowed inside Yankee Stadium for Game 5 on Wednesday night.

As for Betts, he didn't harp on the play too much after the Dodgers' 11-4 loss.

"When it comes to the person in play, it doesn't matter," Betts told ESPN. "We lost. It's irrelevant. I'm fine. He's fine. Everything's cool. We lost the game and that's what I'm kind of focused on. We got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow."

Tags
Written by

Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.