Baseball: Fan prevents equalization – Yankees fail in MLB playoffs

Curious scene in baseball The New York Yankees are out - also because a fan tried to catch the ball

In baseball, there are only a few centimeters between a celebrated catch and a police escort out of the stadium. A fan in the MLB had to experience this. His hand prevented the New York Yankees from equalizing.

The New York Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs of the North American professional baseball league MLB. The record champions lost the third game of the Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays 3:4 and lost 0:3 in the best-of-three series. This means the season is over for the 27-time champion and the dream of their first World Series title since 2009 is dashed.

The supposedly decisive scene in the sixth inning caused a stir. With the score 2-4, Yankees player Anthony Volpe hit a two-run home run. The strike seemed to bring the score to 4-4.

But the umpires overturned the home run after a video review. A fan had reached over the boundary and tried to catch the ball. He touched it before Victor Mesa Jr. of the Tampa Bay Rays could get to the ball.

The replay official concluded that without the intervention, the ball would not have left the field of play or been caught by Mesa Jr. Because of the fan's obstruction, the replay official only allowed one run to be counted. That made it 3:4 instead of 4:4. Players and managers from both teams largely agreed that the referees had made the right decision.

For many baseball fans, catching a ball that a player hit into the stands is a dream. Anyone who catches a ball like this is often cheered. Since the ball was still in the field in this case, the fan and those sitting next to him were then insulted by other supporters. The fan was escorted out of Yankee Stadium by security and police.