Top notable fan interference plays in MLB history: From Steve Bartman to Mookie Betts

When fans head to the ballpark, the hope of returning home with a souvenir baseball is usually near the top of any bucket list. A physical reminder of your time as a fan can help cement memories from the game and be shared with those close to you.

When a baseball leaves the field of play, fans will scramble to claim the prized possession, even more so if the ball has a good story attached to it — like a ball used in a World Series game.

But the key part to a fan becoming the rightful owner of a ball used in an MLB game is that it must no longer be a live game ball.

That wasn’t the case in Game 4 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

In the bottom of the first, Yankees leadoff hitter Gleyber Torres hit a high fly ball into foul territory near the right field wall. But just after Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts caught the ball with his glove above the padded wall, a fan sitting in the first row of the stands, identified as Austin Capobianco, gripped Betts’ glove with both hands, opened it, reached inside and knocked the ball back onto the field. The umpires ruled the play fan interference and Torres was out.

Capobianco and another fan have since been banned from attending Game 5 by MLB.

This wasn’t the first occasion that a fan has interfered with a play during an MLB game, and most likely won’t be the last. Here are five other notable times:

The Steve Bartman incident, 2003 NLCS

Possibly the most memorable fan interference in MLB history occurred during Game 6 of the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins in October 2003. With the Cubs up late, Luis Castillo of the Marlins hit a fly ball into foul territory down the left-field line. Chicago outfielder Moises Alou attempted to make a catch near the wall, but Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached over the wall above the outfielder. The result was a deflected ball off Bartman’s glove with Alou unable to make the catch. The umpire ruled against fan interference on the play.

The Cubs’ defense collapsed, giving up eight runs in the inning, and would go on to lose the game 8-3 and the series in seven games.

Bartman was later scrutinized by the public and media for his interference, to the point that he had to go into hiding to avoid the unwanted attention.

Jeffrey Maier grabs Derek Jeter’s home run, 1996 ALCS

In Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter hit a clutch home run in the eighth inning with a little help from Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier. New York was down by one run when Jeter hit a ball deep into right field. Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco went back with a chance to make the catch when Maier, who was 12 at the time, reached over the wall to make the catch.

Tarasco and Orioles’ teammates challenged the play, but the umpires refused to overturn the call and the home run stood. New York went on to win the series 4-1.

Boston Red Sox fan swings at Yankees’ Gary Sheffield

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry runs deep and in April 2005, the feud spilled over into the stands. While attempting to field a ball in the eighth inning, Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield got into a brief scuffle with a Red Sox fan. The fan, who was kicked out of the game but not arrested, according to the Associated Press, swung at Sheffield as he neared the stands to track down the ball. “Something hit me in the mouth. It felt like a hand,” Sheffield said after the game, per AP. “I thought my lip was busted.”

Sheffield shoved the fan in retaliation but the altercation stopped there.

Yankee fan grabs Betts’ arm and glove, 2024 World Series

This lands as one of the most notable not just because it is one of the latest, but based on how the play unfolded. Betts clearly had the ball in his glove and the fans both tried to pull the ball out and grabbed his arm.

The play was ruled fan interference, but the Yankees went on to win Game 4 11-4.

Houston Astros fan interferes with Betts’ glove, 2018 ALCS

Tuesday night’s Game 4 wasn’t the first time Betts has been forced to deal with fan interference near the wall. As an outfielder for the Red Sox in 2018, facing the Astros in Houston during Game 4 of the ALCS, Betts jumped against the wall and extended his arm and glove out to snag a would-be home run off the bat of Astros shortstop Jose Altuve.

As Betts jumped for the ball near the right-field wall, a fan identified as Troy Caldwell interfered with Betts’ glove, resulting in an interference call being made on the play.

Altuve was ruled out on the play instead of what would have been a two-run home run. The Red Sox took a 3-1 series lead after winning 8-6 and the series, 4-1.