The ninth inning of Game 1 between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers saw the first real controversy of the 2024 World Series. With the score tied 2-2 and two outs in the top of the ninth, Gleyber Torres of the Yankees drove a Michael Kopech fastball to the wall in left-center field. To the eye, it appeared to be a clutch go-ahead home run by Torres, but umpires swiftly ruled that Torres would be awarded a double because of fan interference.
Indeed a fan outfitted in Dodgers garb appeared to reach over the outfield fence and thus over the field of play to catch the drive off Torres’ bat. The call on the field was upheld on replay, and Torres was placed on second base.
Here’s a look at the play:
By appearances, that would’ve been extra bases off the wall and not a home run – extra bases because Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez was not in position to make a play on the ball and not a home run because, again, it very much appears that the fan breached the field of play to make the catch.
Here is MLB‘s plain-language explanation of the fan-interference rule:
In every case of spectator interference with a batted or thrown ball, the ball shall be declared dead and the baserunners can be placed where the umpire determines they would have been without the interference. When a spectator clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball by reaching onto the field of play, the batter shall be ruled out. But no interference is called if a spectator comes in contact with a batted or thrown ball without reaching onto the field of play — even if a fielder might have caught the ball had the spectator not been there.
Luckily for the Dodgers and unluckily for the Yankees, Aaron Judge popped up for the third out of the inning, and Torres was stranded.
Any kind of playoff fan-interference dispute involving the Yankees in a high-stakes October contest will no doubt drag howling from the vaults memories of Jeffrey Maier, Derek Jeter, and the Orioles in the 1996 ALCS:
Unlike the Maier incident, Friday night’s appears to have been judged correctly by the umpiring crew in question.
