Anthony Volpe hit a game-tying home run, at least until the umpires looked at what happened over the left field wall.
With the Yankees trailing 4-2 in the sixth inning and trying to avoid a touchdown by the Tampa Bay Rays, shortstop Anthony Volpe hit a 357-foot fly ball that left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. couldn’t catch. Mesa immediately signaled for the referees to intervene after the play as the fan who caught the ball euphorically celebrated the tie with his peers.
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A replay soon showed what had happened. A Yankees fan reached over the wall to catch the ball so it would have stayed in the park unaided. The referees soon decided that the fans had intervened in the game and reduced the result to a double.
The game still resulted in a run for the Yankees, but Volpe was sent to second base and then stranded on a Spencer Jones hit to end the inning with the Rays still leading 4-3.
MLB’s official explanation:
“After reviewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official determined conclusively that a spectator had interfered with the ball on the field of play. The ball would not have left the infield or been caught. The call was DISMISSED, spectator interference occurred and there was no home run. In addition, the Replay Player scored a run and put the batter on second.
It was the right call. It was an obvious call. Still unpopular with Yankee Stadium fans, some responded by throwing various objects onto the field.
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This is the second straight series in the Boston Red Sox wild-card series in which a fan caught a ball he surely shouldn’t have, as Willson Contreras avoided a similar fate on a long ball.
And, of course, this performance is a reversal of the infamous 1996 Jeffrey Mayer play. In that case, the younger Maier also caught a fly ball from Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, but the umpires refused to help the Baltimore Orioles.
The 30th anniversary of that performance will be celebrated on Friday.