Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
A Dodgers fan didn’t make any friends in Los Angeles when he interfered with what would have been a Mookie Betts home run.
Rule No. 1 at any MLB ballpark: Don’t interfere with a ball at the wall.
Ever MLB fan learned exactly how costly it can be to stick out your hand to try to catch a ball in 2003 when Steve Bartman became a Cubs villain in the NLCS. So Rule No. 1 might as well be: Don’t be a Bartman.
One Dodgers fan apparently didn’t learn that lesson.
During Saturday’s game between Los Angeles and Arizona, a fan at the outfield wall tried to catch a Mookie Betts home run ball. He ended up denying the outfielder instead.
Dodgers fan channeled Steve Bartman by robbing Mookie Betts of home run
Other Dodgers fans were equally angry at the fan and the replay hub in New York for botching the call.
You can see both points. First, if the fan hadn’t tried to catch the homer, it would have never needed to be reviewed. But second, the replay was questionable at best. It was pretty clear that ball was going over the wall without the fan’s interference. Getting the call right would have meant giving Betts his home run, which would have been his second of the season. Instead, they ruled it a double.
The call may impact Betts’ overall season stats, but at least it didn’t impact the outcome of the game. Betts ended up scoring a run as the Dodgers stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Trayce Thompson hit three home runs to make up for Betts’ lost one and LA beat their division rivals 10-1 to improve to 2-1.
The series with the Diamondbacks will conclude on Sunday. We’ll have to see if Betts can get his vengeance then.
