In the Red Sox-Astros game last night in Houston, there was just a wee bit of controversy after the officiating crew ruled this José Altuve home run an out thanks to fan interference:
Mookie Betts was about to rob José Altuve of a home run … until a fan's hand got in the way.
It was ruled an out on review. pic.twitter.com/NLzAnNJ1vj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 18, 2018
Many on Twitter thought it should have been a home run:
Terrible here at Minute Maid Park. Out? Mookie never caught it. It was on fan side of the fence. Should be HR. Brutal. George Springer slams his helmet into ground at 1B. Should have been two-run HR for Jose Altuve
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) October 18, 2018
Including supermodel Kate Upton, who is married to Astros pitcher Justin Verlander. She called it a “#bulls*itcall”:
Watch this video! Mookie’s glove is closed. That’s a home run. #bullshitcall https://t.co/Zb9DLmCZgF
— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) October 18, 2018
And slammed Major League Baseball over it and a follow-up tweet:
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
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She does have the rules on her side as the rulebook clearly states “no interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing or into a stand…”:
Glad you asked. The last paragraph clearly states “No interference shall be allowed when a player reaches over a fence”. So no. The fans had every right at that ball pic.twitter.com/W8at5BULGV
— Ben Verlander (@Verly32) October 18, 2018
We assume the replay booth was focused on the guy in white who was reaching over the railing, but he wasn’t really near enough to the ball to make a difference:
the guy in white is the best case for interference, but he had as much to do with the play as the security guard – the fans who theoretically interfered are orange man and grey shirt man, white polo man's hands never touch betts or his glove pic.twitter.com/pQu3HBI0sD
— Kevin ? Glass (@KevinWGlass) October 18, 2018
As for the Astros, they went down to defeat thanks in large part to these two later plays. First up, here’s Mookie Betts with an unreal throw to get the out at 2nd:
“You shouldn’t have done that, friend.” – @mookiebetts pic.twitter.com/9bSN7CI3xE
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2018
And the game ended on this phenomenal catch, which sent the Red Sox announcer tumbling out of his chair in excitement:
.@RedSox radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione got so excited during the final play, he literally fell out of his seat.
Can you believe it? ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/HdMe6upUpF
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2018
Mr. Kate Upton takes the mound tonight for the Astros:
Justin Verlander in 5 career playoff starts in potential elimination games: 4-1, 1.21 ERA. He's averaged 7.1 IP.
He's also pitched 24 straight scoreless IP his last 3 elimination starts.
Mookie Betts & Andrew Benintendi: combined 3-for-36 against him.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) October 18, 2018
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