Boston — The Boston Red Sox promised more signs and more security Friday to remind fans not to interfere with play, hoping to avoid another scuffle like the one between New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield and a fan in the right-field corner at Fenway Park.
The confrontation came in Boston's 8-5 victory over New York on Thursday night while Sheffield was fielding Jason Varitek's triple in front of the 3-foot-high wall. The fan reached over the wall, and Sheffield said he was hit in the face.
Sheffield shoved the fan before throwing the ball back to the infield. He then moved toward the fan before a security guard got between them. The fan was ejected from the ballpark but not arrested.
Major-league baseball officials said they were investigating, and a decision on whether to discipline Sheffield was not expected immediately. Mike Dee, the chief operating officer for the Red Sox, said they were looking into the behavior of the fan.
"We are not treating it lightly," Dee said. "We are proud of the response by Red Sox security and Boston police. Their actions were quick and decisive. We respect the restraint and composure shown by Gary Sheffield. Together, they helped ensure that the incident did not escalate."
Before their night game at Baltimore, the Yankees said Sheffield would not comment until MLB and the Red Sox completed their investigations. But he later said that team management had advised him "not to say anything else."
"Everything happened so fast," Sheffield said. "You have to look at the tape and pass your own judgment. I can't stand here and try to convince you one way or the other."
Asked whether he would have done anything differently, he said: "I don't think so, I doubt it."
Sheffield also met with baseball security chief Kevin Hallinan before the game. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, through spokesman Howard Rubenstein, declined to comment except to say: "It's in the commissioner's hands."
Dee said the team would remind fans that those who attempted to interfere with a ball in play would be ejected "and, possibly, subject to other penalties" that could include criminal charges or the revocation of season tickets. Signs already were added in the right-field corner with a similar warning.
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