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The Yankees fan was escorted from Yankee Stadium after interfering with Anthony Volpe’s potential game-tying home run during the New York Yankees’ ALDS Game 3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Yankees trailing 4-2. With two outs, Volpe sent a ball toward the left-field wall that initially appeared to leave the park and tie the game.
However, a fan reached over the wall and made contact with the ball, preventing it from completing its path into the stands. Volpe was initially awarded a home run, but the call was overturned following a crew-chief review for fan interference.
Yankees fan escorted out after interfering with Anthony Volpe’s game-tying HR turned RBI double.
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) October 8, 2026
The Yankees fan was subsequently escorted from the stadium as the play became one of the defining moments of the Yankees’ 4-3 defeat.
What Happened On Anthony Volpe’s Home Run?
After the review, Volpe was awarded a two-run RBI double and placed at second base, with the Yankees getting one run from the play to cut the Rays’ lead to 4-3.
Anthony Volpe’s game-tying home run has been OVERTURNED due to fan interference 😳 1 run has come in to score and Volpe will be placed at 2nd.
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) October 8, 2026
The ruling meant Volpe’s apparent game-tying home run was wiped off the board because of the spectator interference.
The incident drew attention given the Yankees’ long history with controversial fan interference in the postseason.
The Volpe incident came almost exactly 30 years after Jeffrey Maier became part of Yankees postseason folklore.
On October 9, 1996, then-12-year-old Maier was sitting in the stands at Yankee Stadium during Game 1 of the ALCS between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. With Derek Jeter batting in the eighth inning, Maier reached over the right-field wall and caught a fly ball that Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco was attempting to catch.
The umpire ruled Jeter’s hit a home run, tying the game. There was no replay review available at the time, and the Yankees eventually won the game in the 11th inning on a Bernie Williams home run. New York went on to win the ALCS and reach the World Series.
Yankees Swept By Rays In ALDS
The Rays held on for a 4-3 victory to complete a three-game sweep of the Yankees in the American League Division Series.
Tampa Bay advanced to the American League Championship Series for the third time and will face either the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in the best-of-seven series beginning Monday.
The Yankees, meanwhile, were swept in a division series for the first time in franchise history.