Bob Levey/Getty Images It took less than an inning for controversy to envelop Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox. Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Spencer Is the Real Winner of the Boston Marathon Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season NBA Squads Brought the Heat with Bench Reactions This Year Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Nation’s Top-Ranked H.S. Teams Will Play for a National Title Is 20-Year-Old Undefeated Ryan Garcia Boxing's Next Superstar? 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The play was more complicated than a straight-up fan interference, though, because it was Betts who leaped into the crowd rather than a spectator blatantly reaching into the field of play. Altuve was visibly upset with the call, and the fans at Minute Maid Park vehemently booed as they watched what could have been a tie game turn back into a 2-0 Boston lead.<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>The most controversial moment of the 2018 MLB playoffs happened Wednesday night, when the hands of two fans and a call from Joe West changed a two-run home run to an out by fan interference. Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros was denied his game-changing homer, and the Boston Red Sox ended up winning Game 4 of the American League Championship Series by a score of 8-6. West’s call on the field — out by fan interference — stood after a replay review. Notably, it wasn’t confirmed, meaning that there was no clear or convincing evidence to change it. After the game, many Astros players, as well as manager A.J. Hinch, wanted to know why MLB didn’t have a definitive camera angle that would have clearly showed if the fans had reached into the field of play while grabbing at the ball. Hinch even made a joke about it, referencing the recent cheating accusations that have been made against the Astros. “Yeah, earlier we started the day with do we have too many cameras in the park. So, yeah, I wish we had an angle that was perfectly along the fence line that would show. That’s the one camera we don’t have.” Well, it turns out that we may have had that definitive camera angle all along — sort of. 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 If that be-jacketed security fellow had leaned about 12 inches to his right, it sure looks like we would have a clear view of where the fans’ hands were, and if they were in the field of play. As it does, the focus now turns to preventing something like this from happening again. Thus far, the options include installing many more cameras at every ballpark to ensure a clear view of every single thing that happens, or to remove the fans from the equation entirely. Story continues Neither of those seem very likely, which means we’re left with the replay system MLB installed in 2008 and has tried to improve on ever since. MLB has done what it can (or what it thinks it should) to prevent situations like this from happening. It changed the rules, despite initial pushback, to bring replay to the game. It’s given every umpiring crew an additional member to issue rulings on replay. It’s continued to expand the list of reviewable calls. Fans reach as Mookie Betts attempts to catch a would-be homer hit by Jose Altuve. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) And yet, despite multiple camera angles and a dedicated person in the booth Zaprudering every single frame, this still happened. Not just the disputed play, but a person leaning over and getting in the way of a vital camera angle. There is still a call that no one can verify as right or wrong. And while the frustration is real and understandable, it’s also part of baseball. There are still things no one knows, and can ever know. Information that’s just out of our reach. Mysteries of the game that will be talked (and argued) about for years. Even with all the technology of today, all the information and camera angles, we’re still having the same argument that fans have been having for a century. What actually happened in that moment? And players are still saying the same things, too: This needs to be changed, this should be fixed, it’s unfair, etc. The only difference between now and 100 years ago is that now we have technology that makes us feel like we can and should know the unknowable, and deep frustration when full knowledge of baseball remains just beyond our grasp. Anyone upset at how baseball has been changing should dive into this controversy and wrap it around themselves like a security blanket. Because these situations have always been part of baseball, and they probably always will be. – – – – – – Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher. More from Yahoo Sports: • 2003 rape allegations cost Kobe spot on film festival jury • Controversial call wipes out Astros home run • NFL owners take a knee in waning anthem controversy • Dan Wetzel: Gymnastics scandal secrets may finally go public<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>
HOUSTON (AP) -- Jose Altuve was sure he'd hit a tying home run for the Houston Astros in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series. He thought it was a double, at least, when he watched the ball ricochet back onto the field. Then, he saw the signal: He was out, and couldn't believe it. Altuve's potential homer was wiped away when umpire Joe West ruled that fans reaching for the ball interfered with Boston right fielder Mookie Betts attempting to make a leaping catch. Now Houston's chances to repeat as World Series champions are nearly out of reach after an 8-6 loss Wednesday night that put the Red Sox ahead 3-1 in the best-of-seven matchup. ''I normally don't get mad at the umpire's call. That one, I was a little upset,'' Altuve said. ''All of a sudden, it wasn't even a double, it was an out. Two runs the game ended up ... that make me a little bit more upset.'' Denied Altuve's two-run drive in the first inning, the Astros wound up falling two runs short. ''That's just a tough call right now,'' said Houston's George Springer, who later homered over that same wall. ''I understand it's not easy to make that call. You would like to see a two-run homer be a two-run homer, especially to tie the game.'' West, the crew chief working the right-field line at Minute Maid Park, signaled fan interference after Betts was unable to make a jumping grab. Fans made contact with Betts' glove, though it wasn't clear if they had reached over the fence. The call stood after a replay review that lasted 3 minutes, 13 seconds. Altuve was ruled out and Springer was sent back to first base. West told a pool reporter the ball had not crossed the top of the wall when ''the spectator reached out of the stands and hit him over the playing field and closed his glove.'' Betts, one of the best defenders in the majors, said he had it all the way. Story continues ''That was a ball I could catch. I'm 100 percent positive I was going to be able to catch that one,'' he said. ''I jumped and went over, reached my hand up, I felt like somebody was kind of pushing my glove out of the way or something,'' Betts said. A fan wearing an orange Astros jersey, who identified himself as Troy Caldwell, insisted he wasn't reaching out over the yellow line atop the 7-foot-high fence when the ball hit his hand. ''That ball was gone no matter what,'' said Caldwell, a lifelong Astros fan from Houston who now lives in Atlanta. The play came on the same day MLB cleared the Astros of any wrongdoing after a credentialed Houston employee was caught pointing his cellphone into the opposing dugouts during playoff games in Cleveland and Boston. Astros manager AJ Hinch cracked a joke when asked if there were enough cameras at the ballpark to properly review plays like Altuve's hit. ''Yeah, earlier we started the day with do we have too many cameras in the park,'' Hinch said, smiling. ''So, yeah, I wish we had an angle that was perfectly along the fence line that would show. That's the one camera we don't have.'' Altuve had both hands on his helmet in disbelief while standing on second base, where he stopped when the play ended. Hinch went out to discuss the situation with West, who had a brief consultation with the rest of the six-man umpire crew before the play was reviewed. ''Jose pays the biggest price because the trajectory of the ball looked like it was going to leave the ballpark. But we assume - and you can assume a lot with Mookie because he's an incredible athlete - we assume he's going to make this spectacular catch jumping as high as he can into the crowd,'' Hinch said. ''Changed that whole inning.'' While Betts didn't say anything to the fans after the disputed play, Caldwell said he immediately started getting texts that he had cost Altuve and the Astros a home run. Altuve said he had nothing against Caldwell, and would do the same thing as a fan and try to catch a ball. ''As long as the Astros come back and win this we'll be all right,'' Caldwell said during the game. They didn't, and now are facing elimination. --- More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports