Almost exactly 30 years to the day of the Jeffrey Maier incident, Yankee Stadium has now witnessed the exact opposite.
The New York Yankees hosted the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 3 of their ALDS series on Wednesday. In the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium in New York, N.Y., Yankees infielder Anthony Volpe was up to bat with a runner on and two outs as the Rays held a 4-2 lead.
Volpe pounded a 1-0 offering from Tampa Bay’s Griffin Jax into deep left field. Rays outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. leapt high at the wall to try to make the catch but ran out of room as the ball went into the stands.
While the play was initially ruled a game-tying home run, it went to an official umpire review to confirm the ruling. Upon that review, the crew overturned the initial call and instead ruled it a double by Volpe due to fan interference.
Instant replay showed that a fan wearing a dark Yankees jacket indeed reached over into the field of play and guided the ball into the stands. Here is the video of the full sequence.
ANTHONY VOLPE HAS HIS 2-RUN HOMER OVERTURNED DUE TO FAN INTERFERENCE https://t.co/1FWBhwnOTs
— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) October 8, 2026
That ended up being a major swing as only one run was allowed to score on the play. Volpe himself ended up stranded at second base as Jax struck out the next batter, Yankees outfielder Spencer Jones, to end the inning, preserving a 4-3 Rays lead.
Volpe, the 25-year-old former Gold Glover, has had an incredible comeback in recent months, going from a minor-league demotion to getting curtain calls at Yankee Stadium. During Wednesday’s elimination Game 3 though, Volpe had to settle for a one-run RBI double instead of a two-run game-tying home run.
