Fan Interference
In the history of baseball, there have been countless incidents where a fan caused an issue for the players on the field. From the basic hecklers to people who have directly impacted the final score of the game, there are many such moments to think about across the annals of Major League History. Perhaps the most famous of all time was the notorious Steve Bartman, but on 10/29/2024 a new incident may have captured the crown from Mr. Bartman.
The Steve Bartman incident happened during the 6th game of the 2003 National League Championship Series when Moises Alou tried to catch a foul ball and Bartman, who was a Cubs fan, stuck his hands out to catch the ball and caused it to bounce out of reach for Alou. Alou was livid and Bartman became the scapegoat for Cubs fans across the world as they placed the blame on him for the team being eliminated the next day. The incident caused him much personal turmoil and he suffered for many years as a result, but eventually the team forgave him and they awarded him with a World Series ring in 2016. His interference was not intentional, it was merely a situation where an overly enthusiastic fan happened to let his excitement over a potential foul ball cloud his judgement.
Another famous incident, and probably one of the best videos a dad could have of himself, was the "Baby Man". This incident, was also caused by an enthusiastic Cubs fan, was famous because it simply a pretty awesome catch by a dad holding his baby. He snagged a foul popup before Dodgers' First Baseman Adrian Gonzalez get to it...all while holding his baby in his other hand. It was ruled a fan interference and did not have an impact on the final outcome of the game.
The third incident is the Jeffrey Maier snag during the 1996 American League Championship Series. Maier, a 12 year old Yankee fan, helped deflect a ball hit by Derek Jeter from being caught by Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco into the stands for a home run. Tarasco believed he was going to catch the ball, but the umpire ruled it uncatchable and the Yankees ended up winning game by 1 run and won the series four games to one. Instead of becoming a pariah like Bartman would be several years later, Maier became a celebrity in New York and even appeared on talk shows. In New York he was a hero, in Baltimore he was the most hated boy in America.
On 10/29/2024, the incident once again involved Yankees fans, but this time it was far more of an aggressive moment of interference. Austin Capobianco and Jesse Rogers, Yankees fans, were in the stands when Gleyber Torres hit a foul ball towards them. Mookie Betts, the Dodgers' star outfielder, ran over and made a leaping catch against the wall. Instead of allowing Betts to finish the catch, the two fans physically grabbed Betts and ripped the ball from his glove. It was ruled a fan interference and Torres was called out. The fans were ejected, but supposedly would be coming back for the next game. Time will tell if this incident has any lasting impact, but it will go down in history as the most egregious instance of fan interference of the era.