In a strange turn of events during Saturday night’s game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Houston Astros, a fan reached into right field and grabbed a fly ball that Mike Trout had seemingly caught. It happened in the second inning, when Trout raced into the corner of the stands to make a spectacular play on a ball hit by Yainer Díaz. Trout extended his left arm into the stands, and just as he made contact with the ball, a fan wearing an Astros jersey also reached out for it.
The ball appeared to briefly touch the fan’s hand before Trout made the catch, but then the fan quickly snatched the ball out of Trout’s glove. Trout immediately signaled to the umpires that the fan had taken it from him. The fan, who seemed apologetic, even raised both arms while holding the ball in an attempt to return it to Trout.
“I jumped in, it was in my glove and the guy just literally took it out,” Trout said after the game. “He was really apologetic. I learn new things every single day. Once I go into the stands, it’s free game. Being in center field is a little different because I don’t really get that play.”
This season, Trout has moved from center field to right field to preserve his body and minimize wear and tear.
The umpire, Alan Porter, ruled it a foul ball and not a catch, prompting Angels manager Ron Washington to come out and discuss the call. However, the ruling stood and wasn’t reviewed via replay. Washington said that the umpire informed him that, once a fielder’s glove goes into the stands, the ball becomes “fair game,” and that any interference by the fan, such as touching the ball, would make the play dead.
“Once your glove goes into the stands, it’s free game,” Trout explained. “I guess if you saw the replay, it hits his hand first, then goes in my glove. So even if I would have come back out (with the ball), they probably could have challenged it. That was my understanding.”
Washington was told he could have challenged the decision, but chose not to use up his challenge early in the game. “I thought he had it, and we looked at it,” Washington said. “It looked like a fan pulled it out of his glove as he was coming out, but I would have had to use a challenge, and if the umpires didn’t do that, I would have lost it early.”
Porter, the crew chief, told reporters afterward that the play could have been reviewed but was ultimately a judgment call. “Once the ball is outside of the field of play, the fielder goes into the stands at his own risk,” Porter explained. “So, the ball being touched by the fan does not create spectator interference at that point.”
After the incident, security escorted the fan and his son to another section. However, Trout made an effort to smooth things over by having the fan and his son brought to the Angels clubhouse postgame. There, Trout gave the young fan a bat, signed the ball, and took a photo with them. “They were really nice people,” Trout said, noting that the fan and his son were extremely apologetic. “It didn’t really affect the game. I have a kid myself, and that kid was probably 9 years old, so just seeing him after the game was really nice.”
Despite the strange moment, Díaz flew out to center to end the inning without any further drama.
