A young fan of the Arizona Diamondbacks found his way into the action on Friday when he reached into opposing outfielder Spencer Steer’s glove to catch his very first home run ball. The young fan was briefly living the dream as a boy who brought his own glove to watch some Major League Baseball and he finally caught a home run.
One problem, however, is that Steer believed that he was going to make the catch had the fan not gotten in his way. So, at the behest of the Cincinnati coaching staff, the umpire crew gathered together to make a call to New York for a video review of the play.
When the officials returned, they did so with devastating news for the young fan. Batter Tommy Pham would be ruled out, as the catch in the outfield was deemed doable if not for “interference” from the boy. Immediately, panic and fear set in as he worried that he might become the next Steve Bartman-type fan who is exiled from his favorite team’s home stadium.
Even in the live aftermath of the play, batter Tommy Pham looked like he knew that home run would not be awarded. On his way to second base, the Arizona Diamondback stopped and gave a puzzled look to the outfield, then to the umpires, before continuing his short-lived homer trot.
The first lead of the night for Cincinnati as Spencer Steer rips an RBI double.
It's Steer's team-leading 71st RBI and 30th double!
An RBI double for Nick Martini follows! pic.twitter.com/HdWBVyHucs
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) August 27, 2023
In a post game press conference, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said, “Once I saw what happened, I had the same reaction every fan had in the stadium that it was a pretty remarkable play by the kid. It looked like the ball was in Steer’s glove and the kid stole it. I don’t know how he did it.”
According to Fox News Digital, the young fan was asked to change seats to a different section. While he was hailed as a hero immediately after saving the ball from the opposing team’s mitt, a chorus of boos had arisen in the stadium one the homer was overturned and called an out.
Tommy Pham was not angry with the fan, expressing his concern during what must have been a terrifying time for a person who always dreamed of catching a ball. “I was in the dugout like, out, it’s clear interference. I just feel bad for him, because kids really don’t know that interference rules, so sucks that you got to get kicked out for that.”
The video of the play shows the child going through the entire slate of emotions. First, anticipation as the ball nears him. Next, he is excited as he reels in the catch and shows the ball to those around him. Finally, tragically, you can see the horror in his eyes as he finds out that his actions may have harmed his team. Undoubtedly, the issue was blown far out of proportion in the young boy’s mind.
The featured image is a screenshot from an embedded Tweet.
"*" indicates required fields