Tommy Pham's Cincinnati-Arizona homer, robbed by Spencer Steer, erased by fan interference
In the bottom of the 7th inning of the Cincinnati-Arizona game Friday night, Reds left fielder Spencer Steer appeared to rob Tommy Pham of a would-be three-run homer with two outs, and a young fan in the front row at Chase Field took the ball away from Steer with his own glove.
It was initially ruled a home run. Upon review, the umpire announced that the homer wouldn't count because of fan interference, ending the inning, because the fan reached over the top of the wall into the field of play.
Fans in the outfield booed as the young fan was ejected and escorted from his seat.
"I think it's a Major League rule, but they sure brought the beef in there to escort that kid out of the ballpark, didn't they?" Bally Sports Ohio analyst Chris Welsh joked during the broadcast. "He'll never pay for another hot dog in this ballpark ever."
"I've watched a lot of baseball, and I've never seen a play quite like that," Bally Sports Ohio analyst Sam LeCure said during the postgame show. "Spencer got overpowered by a kindergartner, so he's gonna have to deal with that."
MLB.com's definition of spectator interference is as follows: "In every case of spectator interference with a batted or thrown ball, the ball shall be declared dead and the baserunners can be placed where the umpire determines they would have been without the interference. When a spectator clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball by reaching onto the field of play, the batter shall be ruled out. But no interference is called if a spectator comes in contact with a batted or thrown ball without reaching onto the field of play -- even if a fielder might have caught the ball had the spectator not been there."
Social media reactions, including from The Enquirer's Gordon Wittenmyer:
Wow!
Kid reaches over LF wall to interfere with Steer's attempt to catch Pham's drive a few inches above the wall.
Ball looked like it was in Steer's glove at one point. Kid wound up with it in his.
Original call of three-run homer reversed on crew review. Third out instead.— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubMLB) August 26, 2023
And they are now reviewing a potential fan interference call on a HR where Spencer Steer thought he had the catch... after review they ruled it an out pic.twitter.com/MoZCGPbmKZ
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 26, 2023
The kid that took Tommy Pham’s home run ball out of Spencer Steer’s glove getting high fives as he’s escorted out and was getting ‘MVP’ chants during the video replay. #Dbacks #ArizonaBorn pic.twitter.com/tZH2lAEll6
— Steve Sher (@stevesher_7) August 26, 2023
A young fan robbed Spencer Steer of robbing a Tommy Pham home run but the call was overturned and Pham was called out pic.twitter.com/G6MptDkr1N
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 26, 2023
Spencer Steer nearly robbed this Tommy Pham homer but a fan snagged the ball out of his glove
The call was later overturned and Pham was called out pic.twitter.com/nkLFPlDlzd— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 26, 2023
What in the world!! The fan literally took the ball out of Steer’s hand pic.twitter.com/53PHwBGxFD
— Robbie Boyles (@Rob_Boyles) August 26, 2023
Fan interference clearly.
My parents would’ve killed me if I interfered with game action 😂— Annie Sabo (@anniesabo_) August 26, 2023
That’s interference.
Fan extended onto the field.— Chris Dickerson (@CDickerson_PFTP) August 26, 2023
This kid should be celebrated not ejected…. Strong hands pic.twitter.com/DagLZDFWM1
— dan haren (@ithrow88) August 26, 2023
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This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Tommy Pham homer, robbed by Spencer Steer, erased by fan interference
