Fan interference at center of Yankees' Game 3 loss to Rays

James O'Connell, New York Daily News on Oct 7, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — The fans certainly made their presence felt on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Just not in the way they had hoped.

Fan interference was at the center of the Yankees’ season-ending 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the ALDS. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Anthony Volpe flew a deep shot to the left-field wall that went into the seats — off the outstretched arms of a front-row fan.

The play was initially ruled a game-tying two-run homer on the field. However, after review, it was determined there was fan interference and Volpe was placed on second with an RBI double.

After a few attempts of identifying the correct spectator, NYPD officers escorted him out of the stadium. The fan was greeted with some unfriendly chants on his way out of the ballpark.

Certainly not the hero Jeffrey Maier was when he pulled Derek Jeter’s infamous game-tying homer in Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS against the Baltimore Orioles, leading to the Yankees' extra-innings victory.

MLB released a statement regarding the play on the field.

“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official definitively determined the spectator interfered with the ball over the field of play. The ball would not have left the playing field nor would it have been caught. The call is overturned; there was spectator interference and no home run. Additionally, the Replay Official scored one run and placed the batter-runner at 2B.”

The Yankees have had a bit of a run with fans interfering on the field. During Game 4 of the 2024 World Series, two fans essentially tried to rip a ball out of the glove of Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts in foul territory — those two were indefinitely banned from all MLB stadiums.

If any fans are going to try and get their hands dirty once again, they will have to wait until 2027 — or 2028 with a potential work stoppage due to the upcoming expiring CBA — as the Yanks watched another team celebrate ending their season on their home field for the third straight season.