BOSTON - New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield thinks there ought to be tougher penalties for fans who interfere with players on the field.

"The consequences the fans get - the penalties. I think that's what's going to change," Sheffield said after meeting with officials from the baseball commissioner's office Tuesday.

Boston police filed applications for misdemeanor criminal charges against two fans - one who allegedly made contact with the outfielder as he attempted to get the ball near the right-field wall, and another who tossed a beer at him in a game between the Red Sox and Yankees last Thursday.

A decision on possible discipline by the commissioner's office against Sheffield, who met with Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, was not expected until today at the earliest.

For the two fans in Boston, the consequences could get more serious.

Police asked a clerk magistrate to decide whether a disorderly conduct charge is warranted against the fans, according to Officer John Boyle, a department spokesman.

Boyle wouldn't identify the two fans, but Red Sox officials have revoked season tickets from Christopher House, a Bostonian who appeared to make contact with Sheffield while he was chasing down a ball in the right-field corner of Fenway Park.

The team also banned a fan who spilled beer on Sheffield from buying tickets this season. The Red Sox did not release the fan's name. The charge, being a disorderly person and disturbing a public assembly, is a misdemeanor.

Sheffield said the first time he saw the beer thrown was at Tuesday's meeting, also attended by an attorney for Major League Baseball, Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost and Sheffield's agent, Rufus Williams.

Sheffield did not think the team's discipline against the alleged beer-thrower was sufficient.

"He'll just have his friend go buy (tickets). I don't think it's stiff enough," he said.

Throughout baseball history, fans and players alike have crossed the line between the field and the stands, with infamous results. But this spring, mindful of the ugly brawl between members of the NBA's Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Nov. 19, baseball officials stressed the importance of avoiding confrontations with fans.

Sheffield credited a meeting in spring training where players were told how to react in certain situations for helping him stay under control in a tense situation.

Sheffield was satisfied that baseball understood "that I listened to the meeting we had in spring training and I set the example for others."

It wasn't immediately clear whether court officials at Boston Municipal Court have scheduled a date for a hearing for House and the other fan. If a clerk magistrate decides that criminal charges are warranted, the two fans would appear before a judge.

House, in a statement issued Monday through his attorney, David T. Norton, said he had "no intention" of striking Sheffield and that he does not believe he made contact with the outfielder. Sheffield said he was hit in the face.

A message left at Norton's office was not returned Tuesday.

Of House's statement, Sheffield said: "He has the right to feel the way he feels and I have the right to feel the way I feel."

On the play in question last Thursday, Sheffield was running along the 3-foot high right-field fence, chasing a hit by Boston's Jason Varitek, when House reached over it with a sweeping motion and appeared to make contact with the player.

Sheffield picked up the ball, made a shoving motion toward House, then threw the ball to the infield. He then turned toward House but did not touch him. A security guard jumped over the wall and stood between House and Sheffield.