Bizarro Joba poses for photos in Bronx, runs into Rieber
Anthony Rieber practiced some investigative journalism over the weekend, scouring the 50,000 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday in search of the man who was arrested for pretending to be Joba Chamberlain. And what do you know? He found him!
The New Jersey man who was arrested in late August for impersonating Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain and trying to score free food and drinks along the Jersey shore showed up at Yankee Stadium yesterday and gleefully posed for pictures with fans who thought he was the real thing.
Ryan Ward, 29, of Asbury Park, was spotted outside the press gate - the entrance the players go into and out of - between games of yesterday's day-night doubleheader against the Rays.
Ward spoke briefly with Rays pitcher Jason Hammel, who was amazed by Ward's resemblance to the 22-year-old Chamberlain. Some fans also were fooled by Ward, who started the week by appearing on the Howard Stern satellite radio show and referred to himself as "Fraud Joba Chamberlain" in an e-mail to a Newsday reporter.
Ward had a pair of tickets to last night's second game of the doubleheader but was not allowed in until the gates opened at 5:30 p.m. He asked Hammels to help him go in through the players' entrance but was told by a Yankee Stadium security official that he had to go wait in line "with the regular people."
Said Ward: "I'm not trying to look like Joba, he's trying to look like me. I'm 29."
Chamberlain said he does not consider being impersonated a laughing matter.
"It ain't funny at all," he said.
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