AJ Hinch Warns Yankees Fans He'll Pull Astros off Field If Bottles Are Thrown

New York Yankees fans threw debris onto the field during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, including water bottles, and manager AJ Hinch said before Game 4 that he would remove his team from the field if it continued. 

"I will pull our team off the field if we're in that situation again," he said, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. "The stuff (thrown) on the field is brutal. ... I told 'em one more bottle on the field and I was going to pull our guys off the field."

"It would be a very ugly scene for baseball, a very ugly scene for the Yankees, if one of our guys was hit by something from the upper deck," he continued, per Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. "Something tragic could happen and nobody wants that."

The players were also displeased with the showing from Yankees fans.

"It's frustrating to see that as a player in the outfield," Josh Reddick said after Game 3, per Nightengale. "We're usually the ones throwing stuff at you. It's definitely disrespectful, and at the same time, very unsafe."

Reddick also noted before Game 3 that he often faces a rain of insults from the right-field stands at Yankees games, noting that they often use his mother's name, his wife's name and "Some other expletives that I won't repeat," per Justin Atkins of the Houston Chronicle. 

Heckling from the stands may be a time-honored tradition in sports, but it can certainly go too far.

"The most frustrating part is there's no action taken," Reddick said. "You look at the security guards—they're just watching, not saying a thing to anybody. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones helping to say that. It's just a matter of circumstance to where they just let it ride."

But throwing objects onto the field is never acceptable, and it sounds as though the Astros won't tolerate any objects being hurled at them going forward. If it happens in Game 4, Major League Baseball will likely get involved as well, creating a storyline the league certainly doesn't want to distract from what has been an epic series between two titans of the American League. 

The two teams will meet in New York for Game 4 on Thursday night at 8:08 p.m. ET and Game 5 on Friday night at 7:08 p.m. ET. The series will shift to Houston for Game 6, if necessary, on Saturday at 8:08 p.m. ET. The Astros currently hold a 2-1 series lead.