Fan who interfered in World Series likely also did in 2023 Dodgers game

Dodgers refused to ban 'fan interference guy' from future games

The fan dressed in Dodgers garb who interfered with a potential ninth-inning home run that might have won the Yankees Game One of the World Series is likely the same one who interfered in a 2023 Dodgers-Padres game, some observers say.

In September 2023, a fan reached over the left field wall into the playing field to snag a long fly ball hit by Dodgers star Mookie Betts, in a similar manner to how a fan reached over to catch Gleyber Torres' ninth-inning blast in the 2024 World Series. He immediately left that 2023 game, carrying a bag that looked like the one the fan toted out of Dodger Stadium in the October 25 contest.

The fan in 2023 wore a red Dodgers hat that appeared to be similar to the one his son wore in the 2024 incident, noted K.T. Tatara, a Los Angeles comedian. "Wearing the same hat in that video last year that the kid with him was wearing last night [in 2024]. Red LA with the large patch," Tatara posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Dodgers lost that September game to the Padres, 11-8. The bases were loaded when Betts launched that fly ball, so another run could have scored had the fan not interfered and officials ruled the play a double. The fan bolted from the game right after the interference and apparently was not approached by Dodgers or MLB officials.

Dodgers fan Fernando Lucio said that the fan who interfered in 2023 was a season ticket holder. "I’ve seen him in every game that I’ve been," wrote Lucio on X. "He always takes [his] son with him. He’ll be there the next game for batting practice."

In the 2024 World Series game, officials ruled Torres' fly a double. The Yankees did not score in the inning and then lost in the tenth inning. Some said the ball could have hit the top of the wall and bounced over for a home run. Others said it could have scooted away from fielders for a triple or even inside-the-park home run, although Torres is not known as the swiftest baserunner.

The fan, labeled "fan interference guy" on social media, dressed in Dodgers garb for Game One but carried Yankees clothing in his clear bag. One observer said the Yankees hat was his son's. He and at least one kid appeared to be escorted from the game by security, but there was no indication that MLB or the Dodgers banned him from future games, as has been done with some fans.

Ball hawks, made infamous by Zack Hample, often carry hats and other items from multiple teams to appeal to different players in hopes of obtaining more balls. In videos, Hample has urged followers to only catch fly balls hit into the stands and not interfere with a ball in play, or even one close to being in play along the field's edges.

The fan wearing Dodgers garb is congratulated after interfering with a ball hit by Gleyber Torres in Game One of the 2024 World Series.Photo byAlex Cold / X

Other famous fan interference incidents

In the 2018 American League Championship Series, Astros fans reached for a ball hit by Houston infielder Jose Altuve into the right field stands. Betts, then playing for the Boston Red Sox, leaped and extended an arm over the wall to try to snare the ball.

Some fans, including Troy Caldwell and Jared Tomanek, inadvertently blocked Betts' path to the ball. Umpires called it fan interference, even though rules are not clear about balls hit into the stands, nullifying a two-run home run for the Astros. Houston lost the game by two runs and later was knocked out of the playoffs by the Red Sox.

Caldwell and Tomanek told ESPN that they did not reach over into the field of play. Caldwell said he touched the ball but not Betts' glove. Tomanek, who might have hit Betts' glove while reaching for the ball, said he didn't cross over the wall.

In the 2017 ALCS, another Astros fan appeared to interfere with a ball hit by Houston's Carlos Correa at Minute Maid Park. Carson Riley, then 12, said he "thought" he reached over the right field wall and deflected the ball into the stands, just as Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ran to that spot. Judge said he did not get there "quick enough."

Umpires ruled that the ball would have left the park and awarded Correa a homer in a game the Astros won by one run. Houston later won the series. Some Yankees fans complained that the ball would have hit the wall without interference.

In the 1996 ALCS, Yankees star Derek Jeter hit a ball near the right field stands. Several fans reached over the wall, with Jeffrey Maier, then 12, pulling it into the stands. Baltimore Orioles players and managers protested that outfielder Tony Tarasco would have caught the ball if not for the interference, but umps called it a home run that tied the score. The Yankees won that game and later knocked the Orioles out of the playoffs.

Maier recently told the New York Post that he is still a Yankees fan and received some texts from family and friends kidding about the 2024 World Series incident.

Other fan interference controversies impacted the 2015 ALCS and 2013 ALDS, among others. Then there was the Steve Bartman incident in the 2003 National League Championship Series in which he and other fans deflected a foul ball away from a Cubs fielder. Chicago lost that game and series but broke its long curse by winning the 2016 World Series.