CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians have identified the fan who reportedly “crossed the line” Sunday when he taunted Boston outfielder Jarren Duran from the stands during Cleveland’s 13-3 loss to the Red Sox.
Duran was restrained by umpires and coaches as he yelled into the stands at Progressive Field after the top half of the seventh inning. A fan, later identified to Guardians security by other fans in the area, was seen running away from the confrontation and up the aisle onto the concourse.
The fan immediately left the ballpark, but Guardians personnel are aware of his identity thanks to other fans in the vicinity of the incident, a source told cleveland.com.
In a statement released following the game, the Guardians said they are aware of the situation, which violated the club’s fan-conduct policy.
“We recognize the gravity of the behavior at issue here and take very seriously conduct of this nature,” the statement read.
“We apologize to the Red Sox organization, the player involved, fans in the area, and are addressing the situation.”
The Guardians said they are working with Major League Baseball regarding next steps, and that they fell short of their goal to provide the best experience to visiting players and fans.
New England Sports Network Red Sox sideline reporter Jahmail Webster said the fan was sitting in the front row and said something to Duran that “crossed the line” after Duran’s at-bat in the seventh.
“You knew it was bad when they were showing other Cleveland fans getting in that guy’s face,” said analyst Lou Merloni on the Boston NESN broadcast.
Duran opened up on a recent episode of the Netflix documentary series “The Clubhouse: A Year With the Red Sox,” in which he recounts attempting to take his own life when struggling with his mental health following two difficult seasons in 2021 and 2022.
Some reports indicate the fan’s taunts were related to Duran’s suicide revelation. When asked about the situation, Duran expressed appreciation for the actions of security guards and umpires in the area.
“The fan said something inappropriate, and I’m just happy that the security handled it and the umpires were aware of it and they took care of it for me,” Duran told reporters after the game.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said he was in the corner of the dugout when the incident occurred, but praised security for handling the incident before things got out of hand.
“There’s a two-way street,” Cora told The Associated Press. “I think security, they did a good job of it. The fan, whatever he said or whatever was going on, security felt like it crossed the line and they kicked him out.”
Duran also praised his teammates and coaches for stepping in.
“When you open yourself up like that, you’re also opening yourself up to the enemies,” Duran said. “But I have a good support staff around me, teammates, coaches and fans that were supporting me, so that was awesome.”
Duran is no stranger to unpleasant interactions with fans. Last season he was issued a two-game suspension by the Red Sox after he uttered a homophobic slur in response to a fan during a Boston loss to Houston at Fenway Park.
“We made a mistake last year and we learned from it,“ Cora said. ”We grew up, you know, as an individual and as a group. But there’s limits, too.”
