Actor Wendell Pierce hated World Series Game 5: The 'ugliness of humanity' sent him home early

Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times on Oct 31, 2024

Published in Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — TV star Wendell Pierce says he will remember the fifth and final game of the 2024 World Series — but for all the wrong reasons.

In a series of tweets Wednesday, the "Jack Ryan" and "The Wire" actor condemned the unruly behavior and "obnoxious fans" that spoiled his night at Yankee Stadium, where the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a late-inning victory against the Bronx Bombers. Pierce tweeted that he left Wednesday's game early, alleging "people were throwing things at me" for speaking to a Dodgers fan. He tweeted about his experience two hours after posting a video of himself sharing his excitement for Game 5, rooting for the Yankees and wearing a hat with the team's logo.

"Unruly, obnoxious people can ruin everything. The worst experience ever," the 60-year-old New Orleans native tweeted. "The game and experience is of no significance now. The spirit of sports ends with the ugliness of humanity."

In subsequent tweets, Pierce lamented the rowdy fans who he said came to the World Series game to "act an a—," adding that they take away from the experience of watching skilled players on both teams, including Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole and Dodgers series MVP Freddie Freeman. The game, Pierce said, "will mean nothing to me because all I remember will be the obnoxious fans I had to avoid."

Pierce did not disclose more details about the allegedly aggressive sports fans. He shared his tirade a day after a Yankees fan caught heat for interfering with Dodgers star Mookie Betts in Game 4. Austin Capobianco, the Yankees fan who grabbed Betts' glove and pried the ball out of it, told The Los Angeles Times, "I'm a way too passionate fan that probably crossed the line."

Prior to Wednesday's game in the Bronx, the Dodgers had secured a 3-1 lead in the series, but the team appeared headed back to L.A. for a Game 6 after the Yankees scored early and often. Then, in what Betts called a "crazy" top of the fifth, the boys in blue pounced on errors and gaffes, scoring five runs and wiping out the Yankees' 5-0 lead.

From there, the game became a nail-biter, with the Dodgers ahead 7-6 going into the ninth inning. In a twist, starting pitcher Walker Buehler took on the role of closer and finally secured the win as he struck out the Yankees' Alex Verdugo, a former Dodger. Los Angeles may have won, but Pierce couldn't care less about the final score.

"The players I will remember," he said in another tweet. "The game [will] mean nothing."

He congratulated the Dodgers on the win, posting a video of himself from Game 1 of the World Series. The video shows the actor at Dodger Stadium on Saturday cheering with the L.A. crowd. "The LA Dodgers at the World Series Champions," he captioned the clip.

The Dodgers returned to town Thursday morning with the World Series trophy in tow. After Angelenos took over L.A. streets Wednesday night to celebrate the team's eighth World Series title, the festivities will continue through Friday with the official parade in downtown segueing into a ticketed celebration at Dodger Stadium.