A familiar Wrigley Field fan interference call occurred between the Cubs and Cardinals at the expense of Paul Goldschmidt.
When your team has lost 18 of their last 23 games and has taken a free fall out the playoff race, sometimes the fans need to take things in their own hands.
The struggles described are from the Cubs, and one the Wrigley faithful came prepared with his glove in a Friday matchup against the Cardinals. The fan put his leather to good use on a nice play, but unfortunately for St. Louis it came at the expense of Paul Goldschmidt’s at-bat.
Cubs fans are probably thinking, “if only those same umpires were around for the 2003 NLCS”. That series featured an eerily similar play happened during Game 6 with the Cubs leading the Marlins 3-1, and Chicago was just five outs away from their first World Series appearance since WWII.
What is fan interference in MLB?
Per the MLB rulebook, here’s the rule:
“In every case of spectator interference with a batted or thrown ball, the ball shall be declared dead and the baserunners can be placed where the umpire determines they would have been without the interference. When a spectator clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball by reaching onto the field of play, the batter shall be ruled out. But no interference is called if a spectator comes in contact with a batted or thrown ball without reaching onto the field of play — even if a fielder might have caught the ball had the spectator not been there.”
Cubs fans will recognize this fan interference called on Paul Goldschmidt
Enter Steve Bartman reaching over the railing for a foul ball that was heading right for the glove of Cubs left fielder Moises Alou. No interference was called, the at-bat would continue, and the then-Florida Marlins would score eight runs that inning. The Marlins went on to eventually win the World Series that season, and Bartman went into the witness protection program.
Of course you obviously can’t blame Bartman. He wasn’t the only fan going after that ball, and he wasn’t on the field to give up eight runs. The Cubs also had a Game 7 to play at home the following night.
Still, as a Cubs fan you can’t help but have that memory replayed whenever you see a fan interference like the one that occurred between the Cubs and Cardinals on Friday. It will forever live in the history of their storied franchise and ballpark, and be replayed as a part of MLB’s most memorable moments for years to come.
On Friday, the call wasn’t nearly as clear.