Fan interferes with play late in Game 1 of Dodgers-Yankees World Series
With two outs in the top of the ninth inning in Friday’s World Series Game 1, Gleyber Torres thought he had a home run to give the New York Yankees a 3-2 lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the umpires called fan interference after someone reached over and caught the ball in the field of play – putting Torres on second base.
Torres sent a 2-1 pitch from Michael Kopech toward the left field wall at Dodger Stadium when a fan reached over and caught the ball. By MLB rule, it was fan interference, meaning the umpire sent Torres went to second base as a result.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled Kopech after the play and intentionally walked Juan Soto to bring up Aaron Judge. Blake Treinen got the job done, getting Judge to pop out to shortstop Tommy Edman to keep the Yankees off the board and send the game to the bottom of the ninth.
For Yankees fans, it looked awfully familiar. The play was similar to the one in the 1996 ALCS when Derek Jeter sent a high fly ball to right field against the Baltimore Orioles. A young fan named Jeffrey Maier reached over and took the ball away – but the umpire already called the home run and, since it was considered a judgment play, it couldn’t be protested and instant replay was still more than a decade away.
Of course, in Maier’s case, he reached over the fence as right fielder Tony Tarasco was trying to make the catch. On Friday, the ball was about to bounce off the wall, which is why Torres ended up at second base.
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“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,” the rule reads.
“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.”
The Dodgers ended up going down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth, meaning the game headed to extra innings. It marks the third straight year Game 1 of the World Series went to the 10th inning.