Spectator Interference Proves Costly for Yankees in Loss to Rays

A fan’s dream may have been the kiss of death for his favorite team. 

In the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on first base, New York Yankees second baseman Anthony Volpe was at the plate with the team down 4-2 against the Tampa Bay Rays in an American League Division Series elimination game Wednesday. 

It was a 1-0 count against Rays reliever Griffin Jax. A sinker, 96 mph, is hit to left field and it keeps carrying over left fielder Victor Mesa Jr.’s head. It doesn’t stop. And … it’s gone! The Yankees have tied the game! Or, so the sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium believes.

The umpires signal for a review and it was determined that a fan reached over the wall and touched the ball trying to collect a souvenir, resulting in it going over the fence for a home run. The home run was taken away and changed to a double, with the runner from first scoring to make the game 4-3. That would be the final score of the game. 

“I thought they did a good job with it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought they got it right.”

Volpe was disappointed his blast didn’t result in a home run.

“Just seeing it through the replay and just hoping for the best,” Volpe said. “Crazy.”

The Yankees could not recover before the Rays finished the series in three games. The Rays controlled the series, not trailing once and only allowing  five runs in showcasing their dominant pitching staff.

Mesa Jr. hit the go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth 401 feet to right center field to put the Rays up 4-2.

This is only the seventh time in Yankees history that they have been swept and the first time it occurred before the championship series. The last time the team was swept was the 2022 American League Conference Series against the Houston Astros, who ended up winning the World Series. It is also the longest stretch  the Yankees have  had without a World Series title. They last won in 2009 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

During the game, video surfaced of the fan and his friends being escorted out of the stadium by security in secret to prevent any conflicts from other fans. Now, that fan will have a memory that he, the other fans and the Yankees will never forget.

“But for us, there’s just no easy way,” Boone said. “It’s a broken clubhouse.”

The top-seeded Rays await the winner between the sixth seed Chicago White Sox and two seed Cleveland Guardians in the other ALDS. The best-of-seven league championship series, the Rays’ third in franchise history, is scheduled to start Monday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

Category: MLB, MLB Playoffs, Tampa Bay Rays