Fan Interference

by Matt Wells

Stealing homeruns.  Fighting.  Changing the outcomes of games.  No, this isn’t the future of sports as we know it.  Well, it shouldn’t be, anyway.

This is sports in the past decade.  This is fans, paying money to enter a stadium to see a professional sporting event, acting like idiots.  These are the fans that ruin the game, whether they change the outcome of a contest or they make a professional athlete fear for his life.

These outrageous behaviors are part of sports history….a very negative part of sports history.Most sports have had their problems with fan interference.  Hockey, thanks to the boards between the action and the fans, has been able to avoid such incidents.

Football has had its low points, including the snowball game between the San Diego Chargers and New York Giants (12/23/95) and a fan stealing the ball from quarterback Brett Favre in a Packers/Bengals game from this past season.  

As we all know, basketball suffered a temporary black eye on November 17, 2004, when Ron Artest helped fuel a riot in Detroit in a Pacers/Pistons game.  A fan, though we know Artest attacked the wrong fan, started the riot by throwing beer at Artest.

Now, I’ll focus on the fan interference of baseball in the past decade, since this is the sport where the most incidents concerning fans have occurred.  Fan interference, of course, predates the ’90’s, but for length’s sake, I’ll look at the recent past.

SEPTEMBER 28, 1995 – CHICAGO, IL – HOUSTON ASTROS AT CHICAGO CUBS

The Astros and Cubs, along with the Colorado Rockies, were in the thick of the NL Wild Card race.  Therefore, the battle between these two clubs on this September day was crucial.

The Astros and Cubs were battling each other in a close game when Chicago reliever Randy Myers surrendered a crucial homerun.  After the homer, a “fan” rushed the mound and attempted to tackle Myers.  Myers, who saw the man coming, tackled the fan and held him until security came.

As you are about to see, Myers was the lucky one.

OCTOBER 9, 1996 – BRONX, NY – AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES, GAME 1 – BALTIMORE ORIOLES AT NEW YORK YANKEES

The Orioles appeared to be on their way to an all-important Game 1 victory over the Bronx Bombers when Derek Jeter stepped up to the plate against Baltimore reliever Armando Benitez.

Jeter ripped a Benitez pitch the opposite way to right field.  This ball was hit well…but it was playable.  Baltimore right fielder Tony Tarasco backpedaled until he was standing against the wall.  He held his glove up waiting for the ball to fall into his glove, just short of a homer.

Then, out of nowhere, 12-year old Jeffrey Maier reached out his glove and hauled the ball into the first row of the right field seats.  It was obvious that the ball was playable, however right field umpire Rich Garcia ruled the ball a homerun, and the Yankees tied the game at 4.  Baltimore manager Davey Johnson argued vehemently, but to no avail.

The Yankees would go on to win 5-4 when Bernie Williams homered off of Randy Myers in the 12th inning.  New York would take the series 4 games to 1 and would eventually defeat the Atlanta Braves 4 games to 2 in the World Series.  With a little help from a little fan, the Yankees dynasty would be born.

SEPTEMBER 24, 1999 – MILWAUKEE, WI – HOUSTON ASTROS AT MILWAUKEE BREWERS

It was the 6th inning of a game in the old Milwaukee County Stadium in a game eventually won by the Astros, 9-4.  Like always, it was a relatively normal evening, until a fan made Astros right fielder Bill Spiers fear for his life.

During that 6th inning, a fan attacked an unsuspecting Spiers, resulting in the rest of the Astros teammates to rush to his side to protect him.

Spiers would suffer a welt under his left eye and a bloody nose.  He would stay in the game, however.

SEPTEMBER 19, 2002 – CHICAGO, IL – KANSAS CITY ROYALS AT CHICAGO WHITE SOX

It was the top of the 9th inning and the Royals led 2-1 over the hometown White Sox.  Kansas City’s Michael Tucker had just bunted for the first out of the inning.  There were 5 outs left in the game (pending, of course, extra innings…if that were to happen) on an otherwise ordinary September night.

All of a sudden, two deranged fans (for lack of a better word) came out of the stands and attacked Kansas City’s first base coach, Tom Gamboa.  The fans, father and son, tackled Gamboa and started to wail on him.  One of the two gentlemen had a knife; luckily, Gamboa wasn’t stabbed.  Gamboa walked away with a few cuts and a bruised cheek.

The injuries seemed minor; however, Gamboa suffered hearing loss during the incident.  He was let go by the Royals after the 2003 season.

OCTOBER 24, 2003 – CHICAGO, IL – GAME 6, NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES – FLORIDA MARLINS AT CHICAGO CUBS

More than 8 years after Randy Myers was involved in a fan incident in Wrigley Field, another fan would give the Cubs’ season a complete 180-degree turn.

The Cubs led the series 3 games to 1 and were 5 outs away from advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945.  Mark Prior was pitching a shutout, and the Cubs led 3-0.  Wrigley Field was buzzing; they were anticipating a World Series berth.

Then, the unthinkable happened.  Florida’s Luis Castillo would hit a high foul ball down the left field line.  As Cub left fielder Moises Alou glided under the ball (which was catchable), lifelong Cub fan Steve Bartman reached over the railing and snagged the ball.  Alou voiced his protest but, much like the Jeffrey Maier incident (see above), the play would stand.

What happened next made Bartman go down in baseball lore.  Castillo would end up with a walk, Ivan Rodriguez would drive in a run with a single, and Cub shortstop Alex Gonzalez would bobble a potential double-play ball, causing all runners to be safe.

The Marlins would go on to score 7 runs in the inning, win 8-3, and win the final 2 games of the series.  The Marlins would beat the New York Yankees in the World Series and Bartman would become the scapegoat for a Cub season that was destined for success.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 – OAKLAND, CA – TEXAS RANGERS AT OAKLAND ATHLETICS

It was the top of the 9th inning in a game the Rangers would eventually lose in extra innings to the A’s.  Cameras were focused on the action going on at the plate when, all of a sudden, a melee occurred.

Texas reliever Frank Francisco, among other Ranger relievers, ended up in an altercation with a fan, who was mocking a tragedy in the Francisco family.  With his teammates coming to his aid, Francisco tossed a folding chair into the crowd hitting the wife of the heckler, causing a cut that would require stitches.

Francisco would be suspended for the rest of the 2004 season and would miss the 2005 season after Tommy John surgery.  He is scheduled to play for the Rangers in 2006.

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This is the problem with baseball.  The fans are too close to the action.  In football, the teams’ benches (a rather large area) separate the fans from the players.  In hockey, as I already mentioned, the boards separate the spectators from the athletes.  It is only in baseball and basketball where the fans are right in the action.

So, what needs to be done in sports, especially baseball, to stop these fans from injuring players or single-handedly changing the outcome of a game?  The answers are easy:

1. More security personnel on the field.  In the cases where fans attacked players or coaches (Randy Myers, Bill Spiers, Tom Gamboa), fans somehow made their way onto the field through a small amount of security.  Obviously, this is not enough security to stop a crazed fan.  Imprisonment doesn’t scare these fans; they made it on national TV…they’re proud of themselves.  Baseball stadiums already have the heightened security after the 2001 terrorist attacks.  Why not use these security personnel to stop fans from running onto the field and having a player or coach fear for his life?
2. Have the first 3 rows of the stadium empty.  That’s right….EMPTY.  Sure, teams will lose some money due to the fact that these are some high-priced seats.  Oriole and Cub fans will jump on this train.  Fans interfering with play, whether the play be in fair or foul territory, needs to be stopped.  If the first 3 rows of the stadium were empty (with security watching the fans to make sure that they don’t do anything crazy, of course), some of the most controversial plays in playoff history would have been outs.  Yes, fans should enjoy the game…but they should also be prevented from ruining it.
3. Edit the rulebook.  This will probably be the hardest thing to do, but you must take it from a team’s perspective.  The Orioles and Cubs have been cheated by fans interfering with the game.  An amendment needs to be made to the official rulebook that reads as such: IN THE CASE OF FAN INTERFERENCE OF A BALL PLAYABLE TO A FIELDER, THE FIELDER SHOULD BE GIVEN THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT THAT HE WOULD HAVE MADE THE PLAY IN QUESTION.  This would pertain to outfielders tracking down homeruns and foul balls, as well as infielders having a potential foul ball out taken away from them by a fan.
4. Extend the netting behind home plate.  The netting should be extended down the foul lines to prevent any type of fan interference with foul balls.  In this case, the netting need not be more than 35 feet high – this would allow a high-hit foul ball to easily clear the netting.  Security personnel would be in place to make sure no fan climbs the netting.  The netting would also prevent any crazed fans from running onto the field.  In addition the first 3 rows of the outfield seats would be empty, thereby preventing a fan from interfering with a homerun ball.

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These measures need to be taken, or at least looked at, to ensure that baseball is not only a fair game, but also that the players, coaches, and umpires on the field are safe from any crazed fans who may disagree with a call or have a grudge against a certain player.  Controversies need to be avoided and everyone on the field must have their anxieties settled.