Yankees reportedly had autograph-seeking cops removed from clubhouse
Two members of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were reportedly removed from the Chase Field visitor’s clubhouse after seeking autographs from CC Sabathia and other New York Yankees players.
According to multiple accounts, the two uniformed officers from the local K-9 unit entered to make a seemingly routine sweep of the Yankees’ clubhouse before Wednesday’s series finale against the Diamondbacks.
However, it became anything but routine when they lingered around and then approached Sabathia for an autograph coming off his milestone 3,000th career strikeout during Tuesday’s game.
According to Randy Miller of NewJersey.com, Sabathia obliged by signing the autographs. It was only after the officers asked Sabathia several questions and also approached Gleyber Torres for an autograph that a Yankees official stepped in.
“Big fan,” one of the sheriffs said before pulling out a new baseball and marker from a jacket pocket and asking Sabathia to sign it for his son.
Sabathia obliged even though it’s taboo for working clubhouse visitors to ask for autographs, then he was peppered with a few questions from the unprofessional sheriff.
A minute or so later, Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres walked by Sabathia, and he, too, was stopped by the sheriff for an autograph.
That’s when Yankees official Mark Kafalas approached.
“My boss told me I could get autographs if I was discreet,” the sheriff said.
The two sheriffs and their working K-9, a six-year-old German Shepherd, immediately were given a friendly but stern scolding and promptly escorted out of the clubhouse.
Anything but discreet
We’re sure occurrences like this aren’t entirely uncommon. But the key word reportedly mentioned yet not adhered to by the one sheriff is “discreet.” The approach here was anything but discreet, which is why the Yankees were forced to step in.
I didn't say it was an abuse of power. And, no, they were on duty. It's super unprofessional. Funniest line was one of them saying his boss told him it would be Ok, that he should just "be discreet" about it. Marching in with a K-9 dog and with baseballs in pocket=not discreet
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) May 1, 2019
It's a rare occurrence for the Yankees to visit Arizona. As such, there are few opportunities for Arizona residents to seek autographs from Yankees players.
Still, there are times and there are places where autograph seeking is considered off limits. The Yankees clubhouse is understandably one of them.
To the Yankees credit, they didn’t make it a big scene. It’s just another one of those odd stories that comes along with baseball season.
More from Yahoo Sports:
