Throwing punches causes uproar

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have been the American League's greatest rivals since the trade of Babe Ruth in 1918. Since the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and the Curse of the Bambino was finally broken, these two teams as well as the fans are still at odds with each other. But on April 14, maybe the fans went a little too far.

During the Yankees/Red Sox game, Yankee right-fielder Gary Sheffield was hit by a fan while trying to make a play near the right field wall in Fenway Park. Sheffield who restrained himself from further physical action, continued the play but returned back to the fan and more than likely had a few choice words with him. Another fan who was just a witness to this event, flung his cup of beer at Sheffield. Both fans were later removed from the park but were never arrested for their disruptive behavior.

Can someone really say that Sheffield went too far? Some speculated that Sheffield was in the wrong, but what about the fans?

Even if the fan was not trying to hit Sheffield, the ball was clearly in play and the fan was not allowed to interfere with the game. Either way the fan was at fault. And what about the moron that threw the beer? Was that really necessary? The guy that swung at Sheffield only lost his season tickets and the one with the beer is no longer allowed to purchase tickets this season. Some argue that punishment wasn't necessary, but when do you draw the line when it comes to protecting the players?

I think that for the players’ sake, the baseball officials should be stricter on their punishments of fans. Is throwing them out of a game really going to solve anything? Put them in jail, make an example out of them especially when it comes to the safety of your players. Who knows, maybe next time it won't just be a punch.