It was the staredown seen around baseball. When Mariners star Julio Rodriguez tossed a ball to fan Taylor Jacobs in Toronto on Sunday night, no one expected a Blue Jays fan to snatch it away—let alone for Rodriguez to lock eyes with the culprit in what may go down as one of the most comically intense moments of the postseason.
“I was out here in Toronto for Game 6, sitting out in left-center,” Jacobs told The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM. “My cousin and I were the only Mariners fans in our section. I’m throwing up the ‘no fly zone’ sign for Julio and tipping my cap, and he figured out I was a Mariners fan. He was going to toss me a ball, told me to come down—and as I go to catch it, the guy in the front row snatches it out of my glove. Julio literally gives him the meanest death stare of all time.”
The video, posted to social media, shows the moment Rodriguez stops and glares at the fan until he finally hands the ball to Jacobs. “It was that uncomfortably long death stare,” Rantz laughed during the interview. There was someone in the crowd who even demanded the fan “give [Taylor] the ball.”
Here is the video of @JRODshow44 guilting the guy who stole my ball to give it back to me 😂 pic.twitter.com/nHFPZ8Ilmt
— Taylor Jacobs (@TaylorJacobs) October 20, 2025
What happened after the death stare?
But the story didn’t end with the handoff. “The part people didn’t see,” Jacobs explained, “is that the next inning, Julio being the good person that he is, came and gave that guy a ball too and said, ‘Thank you for giving me the ball.’ So everyone ended up happy.”
The Toronto crowd, Jacobs said, was surprisingly supportive.
“They were cheering for me. They were like, ‘Julio, toss it to him!’ The fans out here have been great. Both sides just want to see their team make the World Series,” he explained.
Nervous fans in Toronto
Despite Sunday night’s loss, which forced a decisive Game 7, Jacobs said Mariners fans have shown unmatched passion.
“Seattle fans just bring it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a bandwagon fan or you’ve been there from the start—it’s brought the city together. It’s what sports should be: everyone cheering for the same goal.”
As for tonight’s Game 7, Jacobs admitted he’s nervous but optimistic. “Look, I’m a WSU guy, a Mariners fan, a Seattle sports fan. If you’re not a nervous wreck at all times, you’re not a real Seattle fan,” he joked. “But today’s the day. We’ve got the arms, we’ve got the bats, and I think by tomorrow morning, I’ll be flying back to Seattle with a pennant in tow.”
Whether or not the Mariners pull it off, fans like Jacobs and players like Rodriguez have reminded everyone what makes this team—and this fanbase—special.
Mariners vs. Blue Jays Game 7 coverage begins today at 4 p.m. on Seattle Red 770 AM.
Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Seattle Red on 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
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