The San Francisco Giants fan who threw a banana on the field, allegedly in the direction of Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones, at AT&T Park on Sunday has been identified as Alexander Poulides.
Poulides, 42, reached out to the San Jose Mercury News Monday via e-mail, then in a subsequent phone call, to claim credit and stress that the incident was not racially motivated as was assumed by Jones, who is African American.
"I'm embarrassed and shocked by the outcome,'' said Poulides, who was only described as being from Northern California. "In hindsight, I wish I didn't do it and I apologize. I'm very sorry."
In his conversation with the Mercury News, Poulides said he was angry with the Giants and that his actions had nothing to do with Jones.
The Giants did not immediately confirm Poulides’ story checked out.
The team released the following statement in the aftermath of the incident:
We were extremely disappointed to learn about the incident involving Adam Jones at AT&T Park yesterday. The Giants have a zero tolerance policy against this type of behavior, which results in immediate ejection from the ballpark. While we have been investigating the matter since we learned of the situation, unfortunately we have been unable to identify the person responsible. We would like to extend our sincerest apologies to Adam and the entire Orioles organization for this unfortunate incident. The inappropriate actions of this individual in no way reflect the values of our organization and our fans.
