Famous ballhawk watched Yankees fan interfere with HR: ‘You’re not bigger than the game’
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK — It was bedlam in Section 135. Yankees fans erupted, celebrating what they thought was a game-tying, two-run home run by Anthony Volpe in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Rays on Wednesday night.
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How could they not go berserk? The Yankees were on the brink of elimination and had been allergic to scoring runs all series. At first glance, Volpe’s fly ball appeared to carry into the first row above the outstretched glove of Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr.
Watching from the back row in that same section, however, famous ballhawk Zack Hample was waiting to see a replay.
From his spot next to the entranceway beneath the bleachers, under the leftmost State Farm sign, Hample couldn’t tell whether Volpe’s would-be homer landed beyond the left-field wall. With his experience in home run territory — Hample claims to have caught 106 in-game homers and over 13,000 baseballs, including batting practice — he’s seen plenty of fans interfere. He’s had a few close calls in the front row himself.
As soon as slow-motion replays flashed on the Jumbotron to Hample’s left — showing how one fan in a blue jacket reached beyond the wall and made contact with the ball using his left hand — the YouTuber rushed for cover. He got drenched by beers from excited fans when Volpe was rounding the bases a few minutes earlier and didn’t want to be bombarded by brews for a second time, knowing that umpires were bound to overturn the call.
“Obvious fan interference,” Hample told NJ.com an inning after the controversial play. “First of all, bring your gloves. Secondly, learn how to catch. And don’t reach over the wall!”
Sure enough, rather than a two-run shot by Volpe, the play was promptly changed to an RBI double, plating George Lombard Jr. from first base. Rays reliever Griffin Jax proceeded to get out of the jam, stranding Volpe, the tying run, in scoring position on a Spencer Jones strikeout. That 4-3 score held, and the Rays eliminated the Yankees, sweeping their division rival to advance to the American League Championship Series.
“He was trying to be Jeffrey Maier 2.0,” Hample said, pounding the mitt in his left hand, “but now there’s instant replay. You can’t get away with that.”
Maier became an overnight celebrity three decades ago at the old Yankee Stadium when he reached over the right-field wall in Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series against the Orioles. The then-12-year-old touched a Derek Jeter fly ball, yanking it into the crowd — much to right fielder Tony Tarasco’s chagrin — and it was ruled a home run. The Yankees went on to win that game and later, the World Series.
The fan who interfered on Wednesday’s decisive play wasn’t able to watch the final few innings of the Yankees’ season from his seat. Stadium security quickly escorted him out of the ballpark. One video on social media showed officials stepping in to whisk the fan away as soon as it was announced on the public-address system that the play had been overturned due to spectator interference. A security official in the concourse beneath the bleachers confirmed to NJ.com that the league’s policy is to eject any fan who interferes with a ball in play.
MLB issued the following statement on Wednesday night:
“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play. 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. Additionally, the Replay Official scored one run and placed the batter-runner at second base.”
Hample was adamant that Major League Baseball got this right. While he described the situation, using choice words to criticize the fan for trying to catch the ball, a few other Yankees fans nearby nodded in agreement.
“If you interfere, it should be an automatic ejection,” Hample said. “Don’t affect the game.”
Hample detailed how another fan in the bleachers was subsequently kicked out after throwing a bottle in the direction of Mesa when the call was overturned. In the top half of that same inning, Mesa crushed a go-ahead two-run shot of his own off Yankees starter Max Fried, a moonshot to right that silenced the Yankee Stadium crowd.
“They almost hit Mesa with a bottle,” Hample said, “and then he stood there and slapped his glove at the bleachers like, ‘Come on. What else!?’ It’s just crazy. Everybody’s crazy.”
Video of Mesa’s interaction with fans also made the rounds on social media during the late innings of Wednesday’s loss for the Yankees.
One added wrinkle to the interference call is the thickness of the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium. Hample explained that the left-field fence is only about six inches thick, whereas the right-field wall is closer to two feet thick. He recalled how he was involved in a similar play when Aaron Judge robbed Francisco Lindor of a home run at the short porch during the 2017 ALDS.
“When you’re in the front row in right field, you can reach out a little bit without interfering,” Hample explained. “So that’s what I did. My glove was still behind the outfield wall. Judge reached up and caught it and I still got a lot of crap from everybody for interfering with Judge when I clearly didn’t and he made the play. I was aware in that moment. That guy tonight wasn’t aware.”
Hample’s tactics as a ballhawk are controversial and have led to criticism across the industry over the years. Many are familiar with Hample from when he caught Alex Rodriguez’s 3,000th hit, a home run to right field at Yankee Stadium in 2015, and initially didn’t return it. He often pops up in the crowd during big games each season as he strategically positions himself in the bleachers.
When it comes to reputations, Hample didn’t sound too concerned about the fan who interfered on Wednesday night. He pointed out that his interference would’ve helped the Yankees, preventing Mesa from having a chance to make the catch.
If the Yankees had been on defense, however, that fan would’ve put himself in a different and much more loathsome category. Hample brought up Steve Bartman, the Cubs fan who infamously interfered with Moises Alou in foul territory at Wrigley Field in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Marlins in 2003.
“People love catching balls and if you’re in the front row, the instinct is to go for it,” Hample said. “I don’t blame the urge to want to catch a ball, but you also have to rise to the moment and realize that you’re not bigger than the game. As someone in the front row, you have a responsibility to be a better fan and to be aware of the situation and to keep your hands in.”
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