NEW YORK — Anthony Volpe was denied a game-tying home run for the New York Yankees in Game 3 of their AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays when a replay review determined a fan interfered with his drive to deep left field Wednesday night.
The shift in emotions came nearly 30 years to the day after young Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier went over the right-field wall at Yankee Stadium on a ball hit by Derek Jeter in the 1996 American League Championship Series against Baltimore. With no replay system in place at the time, the home team benefited from the umpires calling it a home run instead of interference, and New York won the World Series.
This time, the Yankees ended up losing 4-3 on the very run that was taken off the board and saw their season end with a three-game sweep.
“Just watch it on replay and hope for the best. It’s crazy,” Volpe said. “I mean, we lost. That’s what we’re facing now. That’s exactly what happened.”
Replay umpire Malachi Moore made the call at Major League Baseball’s Replay Center, and players and managers on both sides mostly agreed the right call was made.
“I thought they got it right,” New York skipper Aaron Boone said. “When he hit it, in my eyes, I was a little worried right away because it was like something — I wasn’t sure. And then seeing the replay and seeing it play out, I thought they did the right thing.”
With rookie George Lombard Jr. on base — Austin Wells would have been just as good without a successful ABS challenge from the Rays — Volpe lit right-hander Griffin Jax’s 95.9 mph sinker and hit it 357 feet to left field. It was a matter of inches whether a fan would go over the fence and interfere with the ball or whether he would go over the wall unassisted.
“He almost hit a big home run,” teammate Aaron Judge said. “Right from the start, I loved the opportunities.”
The play was initially called a two-run home run that would have tied the score at 4 with two outs in the sixth inning. But a lengthy video review determined that a fan reached over the wall to catch the ball as Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. tried in vain to grab the ball.
“It was interference,” Mesa said in Spanish. “I think I might have even been able to reach for that ball. It didn’t matter if we won or lost. Well, that’s in the past now. I think they might have even called an out, because I was right there. Everything happens for a reason. It was kind of a middle call.”
Spectator interference became the decision and Volpe had an RBI double that scored Lombard from first base, cutting Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-3.
“I don’t know if he would have caught it or not, the guy would have scored or not,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Our replay manager, Nick (Rogers), said the runner went past second base to the point where the ball hit the fan’s wrist or hand, and that explains why they awarded him the knockout.”
There was another slight delay after some fans in left threw debris onto the field, and Spencer Jones then struck out Griffin Jax to end the inning.
The fan who reached out to catch the ball was escorted out of Yankee Stadium by security and police.
“After viewing all relevant angles, the replay official made a definitive determination that the spectator interfered with the ball above the playing field. The ball would not have left the playing field and would not have been caught. The call is REVERSED, there was spectator interference and no home run. Additionally, the replay official scored a run and placed the batter-runner at 2B,” MLB said in a Replay release. Center.
The judge knew once he saw the sideways replay that it was fan interference. He and his teammates had to face this reality.
“You go from a tie game to a tie game,” said starting pitcher Max Fried, who gave up a two-run homer to Mesa in the top of the sixth. “(Volpe) made a great swing, and that’s how the game goes sometimes. It’s a shame because it’s a game changer.”
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