ST. PETERSBURG -- From the viewpoint of many fans, certainly those watching on TV, the ball seemed like it might never come down. For Rays outfielder Victor Mesa Jr., it was just part of the job.
In the second inning of Monday’s ALDS Game 2, Yankees outfielder Spencer Jones hit a high popup into shallow right-center field. And then … the waiting. Four Rays converged on a spot in the Tropicana Field outfield and waited.
For 10 seconds.
Finally, the ball came down, Mesa made the catch and Jones was out. The ball had hit one of the catwalks under the roof of the Trop -- specifically the B-ring -- and by rule it was in play. The Rays' fielders kept their cool, and Mesa recorded the out.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone came out to ask about the call, but the rule is straightforward: A ball that hits one of the higher two catwalks and comes down within the field of play is in play.
Per the Rays:
“The four catwalks located above the playing surface at Tropicana Field are labeled the A-, B-, C- and D-rings, with the lowest being the D-ring. Any fair ball that hits the lower two catwalks (C, D) is a home run.
A fair ball that hits one of the top two catwalks (A, B) is in play. Any fair ball that stays on one of the top two catwalks is a ground-rule double. A foul ball that hits one of the catwalks is a dead ball.”
If the scenario sounds familiar, it's because we're only two days removed from another stadium roof becoming a subplot in a Division Series game.
The Brewers topped the Padres in Game 1 of their series Saturday night in part thanks to Ty France's sky-high blast to left hitting the closed roof of American Family Field. The ball looked to be carrying towards the wall, but it instead deflected down into the waiting glove of left fielder Jackson Chourio for the second out of the ninth inning.