Jeffrey Maier was as baffled as you were by Yankees fans' interference in Game 4

While millions of viewers watched in shock as two New York Yankees fans ripped a baseball from Mookie Betts' glove on Tuesday, Jeff Maier put his son to bed.

Maier, who said he has seen every Yankees postseason game live, happened to miss this game. But when he saw the replay, he could understand it. Somehow.

Maier, now 40 years old, was only 12 when his full name – Jeffrey Maier – was infamously associated with the Yankees dynasty of the 1990s. In the eighth inning of Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series, Maier reached over the right field wall at the former Yankee Stadium to catch a fly ball from Derek Jeter, making the game-winning home run against Baltimore much to the Orioles' dismay. The Yankees won the game and the World Series.

But 28 years later, Maier was as stunned as anyone when he saw a replay of the two Yankees fans disrupting Betts, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder, in Game 4.

“How should I put this… I don't really know what to think about it,” Maier said The athlete on Wednesday. “I certainly think back to my experience as a 12-year-old and can think about how everything became about me and the ball in that moment. … It was basically just an instinctive attempt to get the ball.

“Watching yesterday was obviously very different. I think this fan may have originally had the plan to get the ball, but once it's in the glove… I can't fully understand the thought process, especially from two adults.”

Austin Capobianco, 38, of Connecticut, was ejected following the incident, which occurred after Gleyber Torres fouled in the bottom of the first inning. Another fan, identified by ESPN as John Peter, was also ejected. Major League Baseball banned both fans from attending Game 5 on Wednesday, a league spokesman said.

Maier spoke with ease and lightheartedness as he compared his 1996 moment to Tuesday's scene. He said he doesn't mind being mentioned every time a similar incident involving disruption to fans occurs. In fact, he said his early moment of fame had a positive impact on his life and helped him stay in touch with friends and colleagues.

“It's very easy for me to talk about this because I'm 40 now, I have my own children and I'm pretty far removed from this event,” Maier said.

As for what he would say to the two fans involved with Betts on Tuesday, Maier has the opposite opinion.

“I don’t know if there’s much to say. I’m sure from their perspective they feel a lot of regret and remorse,” he said. “I'm sure what felt good in the moment probably won't work as well for them today.

“My advice would be not to do that again and I'm sure it was a costly mistake for them. I know all three of my boys asked me if I wanted to go to the World Series and I showed them how expensive the seats were. These guys are probably out a lot of money right now and probably don't feel too good about just being able to get the first batter of the game for the Yankees.”

Maier owed much of his perspective on his moment as a fan disruptor to his fatherhood. It's helping them navigate age and hobby now: His oldest son is 14, the middle boy is 12 and the youngest is 10, and their bond over baseball is “special,” he said.

“They know very well what I did as a 12-year-old,” Maier said with a laugh, adding that they were all adult Yankees fans even though they lived in New England.

Maier said even the most passionate fans need a line, and “the line probably throws it off.” But Maier understands the impulse nonetheless. Every fan, especially if they play the sport, feels the urge to react to a ball in the air, he said. A die-hard baseball player's heart always skips a beat at the crack of the bat, even if it's just a foul ball from Torres' bat.

Maier would know. Years after clearing Tony Tarasco's head to sling Jeter's home run over the wall, Maier was a Division III baseball star, breaking his career hits record at Wesleyan (Conn.) University and finishing his four years with a batting average of 0.373.

So at 40, would Maier make the same decision as his 12-year-old self and reach for a home run ball if he could help the Yankees win a World Series?

“I think I might tear a hamstring trying to move so fast compared to when I was younger,” Maier said with another laugh, adding, “I couldn’t say yes or no.”

“The instinct is there, the tendons and so on are probably not as loose as they used to be.”

(Top photo: Manny Millan / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)