Astros star Jose Altuve almost had a game-tying two-run home run in the first inning of ALCS Game 4 against the Red Sox on Wednesday night. Then Mookie Betts almost caught it with a leaping catch. But it might have been fan interference. Until, wait, it was actually it was a home run. No, never mind. It was actually fan interference and Altuve was out. Wait what? Let’s catch up. If you weren’t watching, here’s what happened in right field of Minute Maid Park. Was Mookie Betts going to catch this ball? pic.twitter.com/uhKFAb3g6u — Pitcher List (@PitcherList) October 18, 2018 Betts leaped to make what could have been a magnificent catch, a fan touched his glove, and he didn’t catch it. The ball left the park, but then crew chief Joe West called it an out due to fan interference. These are the things we know for sure. After an official review in New York, the call stood. It wasn’t confirmed, because there wasn’t enough evidence to either overturn or confirm, but it stood and Altuve was out. Joe West’s initial call of out because of interference helped the Red Sox in this situation, because if his first instinct was the opposite that call probably would have stood due to the same lack of evidence. Sign up for the newsletter Say Hey, Baseball Everything worth knowing in baseball, every day of the week. Thanks for signing up! Check your inbox for a welcome email. Email (required) By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice and European users agree to the data transfer policy. Subscribe Now, here’s MLB’s spectator interference rule: (e) Spectator Interference When there is spectator interference with any thrown or batted ball, the ball shall be dead at the moment of interference and the umpire shall impose such penalties as in his opinion will nullify the act of interference. APPROVED RULING: If spectator interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire shall declare the batter out. An especially pertinent passage in this section of the rulebook explains, No interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk. However, should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence, railing or rope, and plainly prevent the fielder from catching the ball, then the batsman should be called out for the spectator’s interference. It’s unclear in this situation whether the fan “clearly” prevented Betts from catching the ball. In the video, and the reason West may have made his original decision, it appears as if the fan’s hand closed Betts’ glove as he was about to catch the ball, thereby preventing the catch from being completed despite Betts having it perfectly lined up. The thing under even more debate than whether the fan made a difference in the catch itself is whether Betts was in the stands. As the rule states above, it’s not interference if the fielder is in the stands. The league normally would have had a better angle to make that judgement call, except for the presence of a leaning security guard who blocked that view. Screen shot from TBS of why they likely didn’t have a “definitive” look at Betts glove in the crowd pic.twitter.com/HZKuqMRhSW — Mike Ferrin (@Mike_Ferrin) October 18, 2018 Astros manager A.J. Hinch was visibly annoyed (if not outright upset) at the call during a mid-game interview, questioning how the decision was made to have the call stand and the fact that it was an out for sure. He said of the assumption it would have been caught, “I’m not sure if Mookie makes that catch. He’s a great athlete, but how it’s an assumed out is unbelievable.” Kate Upton, wife of Astros ace Justin Verlander, had some thoughts on this one and she’s not necessarily wrong. It’s the lack of that angle that makes it impossible to know whether Betts broke the imaginary barrier between field and fan or not. So if a player is IN the stands fans are suppose to move over? If those are the rules MLB shouldn’t let fans sit there. They didn’t reach over the fence. @MLB — Kate Upton (@KateUpton) October 18, 2018 This is a call that would have made the other team and its fans angry no matter who came out on top here. There are unanswerable questions thanks to the lack of definitive angles and the way the call was made in the first place (The Joe Show never fails to deliver, as many know). It could have been clear fan interference, it could not have been. That makes it one of the most exciting, debatable, and for some frustrating moments of the postseason so far. If the Astros go on to lose the game there’s going to be a lot of unhappy people in Houston who want better answers from the league and the umpires about why the call went Boston’s way. If they win ... well that will probably still be the case. The fan responsible knows he’s on thin ice with the crowd though, and already has an exit strategy. Here’s Troy Caldwell. He was the fan who was ruled to have interfered with the Astros potential home run ball. “I’m going to need security to escort me out of here if the Astros don’t come back to win this.” pic.twitter.com/IXE2uEzSoW — Matt Young (@Chron_MattYoung) October 18, 2018 Good job reading the room, bad choice of hats and where to put your hands when there’s a fly ball near your section. No one makes winning decisions all the time.<doc-sep>Troy Caldwell thought he had just been part of a funny moment at an Astros playoff game when his phone started blowing up with friends sending him pictures and videos of him nearly catching what he thought was a first-inning Jose Altuve home run ball. Then, he noticed that crew chief Joe West, who was manning the right-field line in Wednesday's critical Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, had called fan interference and ruled Altuve out. COLUMNIST: Astros wronged by call on fan interference, only on HoustonChronicle.com As a lengthy review dragged on, Caldwell had a sinking feeling that he might be in trouble. The review upheld West's original call that Caldwell interfered with Red Sox rightfielder Mookie Betts. Just like that, a potential game-tying home run was ruled an out. Two batters later, the Red Sox got out of the inning without suffering any damage except for what Caldwell was experiencing in the front row of Section 152. "I'm going to need security to escort me out of here if the Astros don't come back to win this," said Caldwell, who grew up in Houston but currently lives in Atlanta and flew to town just for this game. NOT ESPIONAGE: Astros were doing surveillance against Indians, Red Sox, MLB says West said neither the ball nor Betts' glove had crossed the railing when the interference took place. "Here's the whole play," West said. "They hit the ball to right field, he (Betts) jumped up to try to make a catch, a fan interfered with him over the playing field. That is why I called spectator interference." Caldwell disagreed. "I didn't reach over the wall; I was on this side of the line," Caldwell said. "I don't understand what happened. I know the rules, and I didn't reach over the line." Rule 3.16 states that: "No interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence" unless "it is clearly intentional." West says that rule isn't applicable, because - in his view - Betts didn't reach into the stands. "I think you know what I think of Joe West right about now," Caldwell said. At least early in Wednesday's game, Caldwell had the support of Astros fans sitting around him, who were busier yelling at West than they were bothering Caldwell. Pinkerton's Barbecue sent out a tweet during the game urging fans around Caldwell to buy him a beer and offered him free barbecue. "I promise you I didn't do anything wrong," Caldwell said.<doc-sep>It might not be a Jeffrey Maier or Steve Bartman situation, but Astros fan Troy Caldwell added another controversial fan interference moment to the MLB playoff lexicon during Game 4 of the ALCS. With one out and one on in the first inning, Jose Altuve launched a ball to right field that appeared to go over the wall for a home run. But as Mookie Betts leaped into the seats to try to make the catch, Caldwell reached for the ball, too, seemingly forcing Betts’ glove closed in the process. The video replay upheld umpire Joe West’s fan interference call, and Altuve was ruled out. “I was pretty positive I was going to be able to catch it,” Betts said after the game. “But when I jumped and reached my hand over, I felt like someone pushed my glove out of the way.” So, what would have been a two-run homer instead became out No. 2. The Astros would go on to lose by two. Caldwell is a lifelong Astros fan who trekked from his current home in Atlanta back to Houston for Game 4. He was steadfast in his belief he did nothing wrong. “I don’t understand even what happened,” Caldwell told the Boston Globe. “I was over the line and the ball hit — I had my hands out, you can see it. I got like 800 pictures that already came to me — but I’m over the line and I put my hand out and the ball hit my hand. “I never touched his glove. I don’t understand why it wasn’t a home run.” On a closer review of the video, he may have a case, although it isn’t exactly clear. Caldwell, wearing a bright orange shirt and a vintage Reagan-Bush ’84 hat, did reach for the ball. But it may have been the man next to him, wearing a blue shirt, who interfered with Betts’ glove. Regardless, Caldwell had a few choice words when asked his opinion of West. “[He’s] a joke,” Caldwell said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for the paper. That’s about the worst call I’ve ever seen. That ball was gone, no matter what. My hand wasn’t over the yellow.” The Astros had a chance to get those runs back in the bottom of the ninth, when Alex Bregman flared a ball into left field with the bases loaded. But Andrew Benintendi made a spectacular catch, likely saving two runs and giving the Red Sox a 3-1 series lead. If only.<doc-sep>
For a moment, Jose Altuve thought he had tied Game 4 of the American League Championship Series for the Houston Astros with a deep ball off of Boston Red Sox starter Rick Porcello. The ball traveled above the right field wall, where Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts made a play, but didn’t come up with the grab. The ball bounced off his glove and back into the field of play. Betts’ glove collides with fans When Betts reached for the ball, he was met with a throng of hands of fans in the first row. Jose Altuve was ruled out on fan interference when Mookie Betts reached over the wall to make a play on his ball. (Getty) Joe West eventually calls out on the field Umpire Joe West hesitated before calling Altuve out. A replay review concluded that the call would stand. There was not enough evidence on the field to overturn the call on the field. Altuve was out because of fan interference. The Red Sox had a 2-0 lead at the time of the play. George Springer was on first when Altuve took the plate. Had it been ruled a home run, the game would have been tied at 2-2. The Astros did not score in the inning. The Red Sox would go on to an 8-6 win. Interference rules in play Two rules appear to be at play here. Rule 3.16 states that “If spectator interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire should declare the batter out.” From MLB Rulebook … Joe West 3.16 says you're out. pic.twitter.com/LGK1BjKfPY — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 18, 2018 Rule 6.01 (e) declares that “no interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball.” Rule 6.01(e) in the MLB rule book pic.twitter.com/rhQ4EDs6fh — Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) October 18, 2018 This ruling would imply that had Betts reached into the stands, then interference would not be in play. Story continues A.J. Hinch not happy with West’s call Astros manager A.J. Hinch talked about the play in an in-game interview with TBS. He was not pleased. “He just said there was fan interference on the field,” Hinch said of West’s explanation to him for the call. “My argument was more about the fact that the ball was leaving the yard. The trajectory was there. “Jose paid the ultimate price for something out of his control. I’m not sure Mookie makes that catch. He’s a great athlete. But how it’s an assumed out is unbelievable.” Hard call to overturn via replay It was a very close play at the wall. Betts’ glove clearly closed when it made contact with a fan. It’s difficult to tell if Betts reached into the stands or the fans reached over the wall or if they met directly at the wall. It’s reasonable to reach the conclusion that there wasn’t strong enough evidence to overturn the call. Had West ruled it a home run on the field, we may have ended up with a 2-2 game in the bottom of the first. More from Yahoo Sports: • Lonzo’s new signature shoes are … something • Chargers in L.A. looking like a very bad idea • Ailing former Saints star welcomes precious new gift • Mayweather responds to Khabib’s challenge