Spectator Interference
Definition
Spectator interference (or "fan interference") occurs when a fan goes onto the field or reaches over, under or through a barrier and either touches a ball in play or touches or otherwise interferes with a player.
The most common kind of fan interference happens when a fan reaches out onto the field and stops a fielder from catching a fly ball -- for example, by reaching over the outfield fence and touching a ball that's close to being a home run. When fan interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire calls the batter out.
More generally, for any kind of spectator interference with either a batted ball or a thrown ball, the ball is dead and the umpire imposes whatever penalties he judges will nullify the interference.
It is NOT fan interference if the fielder reaches over the fence or into the stands to try to catch a ball. The player does that at his own risk, as long as the ball is outside the playing field.
For example, when an outfielder is trying to rob a home run where the ball has already crossed the plane of the fence, and a fan touches the ball and stops the outfielder from making the catch, that is just a home run.
But if the fan reaches onto the playing field side of the fence and stops the fielder from making the catch, then it IS spectator interference and the batter is out.
Before replay review:
Plays with potential fan interference -- for example, home run calls or other plays where a fan might have reached over the fence -- are now reviewable with instant replay.
Before the implementation of replay review in the Major Leagues, maybe the most famous example of a play where spectator interference was NOT called happened in Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Orioles.
In the eighth inning, Derek Jeter hit a fly ball toward the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. As Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco tried to catch the ball, 12-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence and deflected the ball into the stands. But the umpires ruled the play a home run instead of fan interference. It counted as a game-tying homer for Jeter, and the Yankees won the game and eventually the World Series.
Notable examples of spectator interference:
• In Game 4 of the 2018 ALCS between the Red Sox and Astros, fan interference was called when a fan hit Mookie Betts' glove as he leaped to try to rob Jose Altuve of a potential home run. Even though it would have been a difficult catch for Betts, Altuve was called out for the interference and the call stood after a replay review.
• In Game 4 of the 2024 World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers, Betts was again involved in a fan interference play. This time it was on a foul fly ball hit by Gleyber Torres down the right-field line at Yankee Stadium. As Betts made a jumping catch along the wall, a Yankees fan grabbed his glove, pried it open and ripped the ball loose. Torres was called out for the interference.
• In Game 1 of that same 2024 World Series, Torres was again at the plate for another fan interference play. In the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium, Torres hit what looked like a go-ahead home run to left-center field, but actually, a fan had reached well over the fence to catch the ball and pull it up into the stands. The umpires immediately signaled for interference and ruled the play a double (not an out, because Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández wasn't going to catch it). The Dodgers eventually won on Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam.
• In Game 3 of the 2026 ALDS, the Yankees were at the center of yet another spectator interference call at Yankee Stadium. Anthony Volpe hit what was initially called a game-tying home run to left field against the Rays, but after a replay review, the umpires determined that a fan had reached onto the field and touched the ball before it crossed into the stands. It was also determined that left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. would not have caught the ball, so Volpe got a double out of it, just not a homer.