A New York Yankees fan who drilled Red Sox star Alex Verdugo in the back with a baseball this weekend is now banned from attending MLB games FOREVER.
Yanks and MLB officials confirmed the decision Sunday ... after the fan hurled a ball at Verdugo from his seat in left field during the Boston vs. NY game Saturday night.
A fan throws a ball at Alex Verdugo and he is not happy. The Red Sox all left the field pic.twitter.com/Z8GHRZd2oY
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 18, 2021
The scene was wild ... Verdugo tossed a baseball into the crowd to give a souvenir to a young fan, but seconds later, a man in a Yankees shirt heaved it back at him while he wasn't looking.
The ball plunked the Sox outfielder ... and he was FURIOUS over it, pointing up at the fan and yelling with rage.
Here’s video of the fan being kicked out for hitting Alex Verdugo with a baseball. You can hear fans helping security find out who did it pic.twitter.com/OKrVx8lzux
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 18, 2021
Ultimately, the fan was booted from the game ... and then hit with a perma-ban from ALL MLB ballparks by officials less than 24 hours later.
"While the Yankees appreciate the spirit and passion of our fans in our various rivalries -- especially with the Red Sox -- reckless, disorderly and dangerous behavior that puts the safety of players, field staff or fellow fans in jeopardy will not be tolerated," Yankees officials said in a statement.
"There is absolutely no place for it at Yankee Stadium. The safety of everyone at Yankee Stadium, including guests in the stands and players on the field, will always be the top priority for the Yankees organization every time we open our doors."
Both the Red Sox and Yankees managers, Alex Cora and Aaron Boone, denounced the fan's actions ... with Boone calling it all, "awful, embarrassing" and "unacceptable."
Aaron Boone sounds off on the Yankee fan who hit Alex Verdugo with a ball:
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) July 18, 2021
"There's zero place for that in this great game and in this great rivalry. Players should never feel like they have to worry about anything like that." pic.twitter.com/MNO8nd8zTA
The fan was somehow not arrested, NJ.com reported over the weekend ... though it's unclear if criminal charges are being pursued.
Verdugo, meanwhile, escaped the incident without injury ... and was able to play in Sunday's Yanks vs. Sox series finale -- though he went 0-for-4 with 3 strikeouts.