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Child moved from seat at Diamondbacks game after fan interference on potential Tommy Pham home run

A young fan pulls the ball out of the glove of Cincinnati Reds' Spencer Steer on a ball hit by Arizona Diamondbacks' Tommy Pham during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, in Phoenix. The Fan was called for interference on the play and was ejected from the ballpark. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Tommy Pham's fly ball turned into an unfortunate case of fan interference. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Every kid who goes to an MLB game with a baseball glove dreams of catching a home run, but the experience turned sour for one young fan on Friday at an Arizona Diamondbacks game.

In the seventh inning of the D-backs' game against the visiting Cincinnati Reds, Arizona outfielder Tommy Pham hit a deep fly ball that seemed destined to go over the fence. However, the ball was low enough for Reds rookie outfielder Spencer Steer to attempt to rob Pham's homer.

Steer leaped and came down with ... nothing. Upon further review, it became clear what happened: a young D-backs fan basically pulled the ball out of Steer's glove into his own.

The play was called on the field as a home run for Pham, but an umpire review overturned it, and it was called an out on fan interference.

The slo-mo view of the catch makes it difficult to tell if the fan really cost Pham a homer. The ball was in Steer's glove, yes, but only after bouncing off the kid's glove over him. Either way, it's a pretty textbook case of fan interference for the home team.

The child, who received "MVP" chants during the video review, was later seen being escorted from his seat while getting high-fives from fellow fans along the aisle. The Diamondbacks broadcast later reported that the child and his family weren't ejected from Chase Field, just relocated.

The Diamondbacks went on to win 10-8, with Pham going 1-for-4 with two RBI. Arizona's record sits at 68-61, with a 1.5-game lead on the Reds and San Francisco Giants for the third and final NL wild-card spot.