The New York Yankees returned to the World Series on Friday and brought the specter of Jeffrey Maier with them. It went a little differently for them this time.
With two outs, none on and the game tied 2-2 in the top of the ninth, Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres hit fly ball to deep left field that, for a second, looked like a go-ahead homer. Then the umpires called fan interference and America met its newest controversial ballhawk.
A fan in Dodgers gear clearly reached over the outfield wall to catch the ball, so the umpires waved off the Torres homer and placed him at second base. The call was confirmed via replay.
The play echoed the controversy when, 26 years ago, a 12-year-old named Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall at Yankee Stadium and pulled in a game-tying home run for Derek Jeter against the Baltimore Orioles during Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. In that case, it was a Yankees fan making the catch, and the umpires making the wrong call.
The ruling loomed large when the Dodgers intentionally walked Juan Soto, pulled reliever Michael Kopech and sent in Blake Treinen to face Aaron Judge with the game on the line. Judge popped out to end the inning.
The Dodgers went down in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings, which L.A. eventually won, 6-3, on Freddie Freeman’s 10th-inning grand slam with two outs.