The biggest crowd of the MLB season showed up at Dodger Stadium to give Houston a piece of its mind.
Some people took it too far
Nearly two years have passed since the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme was made public, but Dodgers fans are still as angry as they were the day the story broke.
Even though the Dodgers broke their World Series drought last season, fans are still upset that the cheating Astros beat them in 2017. And so when Houston came to town to begin a two-game interleague series Tuesday, L.A. fans came out in droves to let the Astros hear it.
The game attracted 52,692 fans, about 3,000 shy of a sellout but still the largest crowd at any MLB game this season. They got the heckling started well before first pitch.
There were, of course, inflatable trash cans.
And even a toddler dressed in a trash can costume.
A couple of the trash cans made it onto the field.
The trash can stuff, even if it interrupts the game briefly, is all fun and games, but some fans crossed the line. Mookie Betts said before the game that he was expecting there to be fights in the stands. And there were. Fans started throwing trash at a Houston fan and then a fight broke out.
Cops also stepped in when two L.A. fans started threatening each other on the concourse.
Other fans clashed with security guards as they attempted to control the rowdy fans.
(Thanks to The Big Lead for compiling those videos.)
What an ugly scene. In that first video, there’s a kid caught right in the middle of the trash throwing. The Astros hate has been a fun story for all baseball fans to unite behind, but it’s possible to take it too far. When Houston made its first postscandal trip to Yankee Stadium in May, the atmosphere was raucous but not violent. Maybe the reduced capacity in the Bronx (10,850 fans) is somewhat responsible for that, but fans should be able to get loud and passionate in packed stadiums without starting fights.
Frankly, the Astros hate is a little overblown at this point. Most of the players involved in the sign-stealing scandal are gone now. By next season, it’s possible that only Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman will remain from the scandal-plagued 2018 team. Those guys will (and probably should) be booed for as long as they remain in Houston, but it’s time to stop making Astros road games all about the cheating. Fans are getting it out of their systems after games were played in empty ballparks last year, but hopefully by next year they’ll stick to booing Altuve, Correa and Bregman when they’re introduced and not start any more fights.
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