Was this Ball Going Out?
It wasn’t exactly Steve Bartman 2.0, but a fan reached out and caught a Bryce Harper fly ball on Tuesday night:
Bryce Harper had what would have been his first home run in over a month called back due to fan interference pic.twitter.com/AH9spOFyPx
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 11, 2024
Watch it back a few times. Is that ball going out? I think it’s falling just barely short, which, if we’re taking things at face value here, would explain why the fan reached out in the first place. If it was gone, the glove would be up, not out. But either way, that ball is not being caught at the fence. It’s high and likely going to take a wicked carom off the IBX logo, probably for a double (assuming Bryce was actually running it out). The end result, ground rule double, probably put him on the same base he would have ended up at without the interference.