A fan was ejected from Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 7 after the league determined he interfered with a ball in play in the New York Yankees' season-ending loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays led 4-2 when the Yankees' Anthony Volpe hit a fly ball to deep left field in the sixth inning, where it was close to clearing the fence. The ball didn't clear the fence on its own — a fan sitting in the front row of seats reached over and pulled it into the stands.
Volpe cleared the bases thinking he had hit a two-run home run. But after umpires reviewed the play, Volpe was sent back to second base with a double and George Lombard Jr. was credited with a run scored. In a statement, Major League Baseball said it had “definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play” after looking at “all relevant angles.” “The ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught.
The call is OVERTURNED, there was spectator interference and no home run,” the league said in a statement. Makes 124-Year Franchise History Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. insisted he was interfered with from the moment Volpe cleared the bases. "On that play, I feel that the ball carried a little bit more than it should," Mesa told TBS.
"In my opinion, I feel that I could catch the ball or at least could have touched my glove. But it is what it is." More news: MLB All-Star Who Came Back From Cancer Retires Immediately at 37 Videos later circulated on social media showing the fan, who was wearing a Yankees windbreaker, being escorted out of Yankee Stadium by security after the interference ruling. The Rays got out of the sixth inning without allowing another run.
By winning, they swept the best-of-five series 3-0. For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports
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