A Dodgers fan didn’t make any friends in Los Angeles when he interfered with what would have been a Mookie Betts home run.
Rule No. 1 at any MLB ballpark: Don’t interfere with a ball at the wall.
Ever MLB fan learned exactly how costly it can be to stick out your hand to try to catch a ball in 2003 when Steve Bartman became a Cubs villain in the NLCS. So Rule No. 1 might as well be: Don’t be a Bartman.
One Dodgers fan apparently didn’t learn that lesson.
During Saturday’s game between Los Angeles and Arizona, a fan at the outfield wall tried to catch a Mookie Betts home run ball. He ended up denying the outfielder instead.
Dodgers fan channeled Steve Bartman by robbing Mookie Betts of home run
Fan drops what would have been a Mookie Betts home run
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHHarris) April 2, 2023
Instead it’s ruled a double for fan interference pic.twitter.com/50IlleaWUP
Other Dodgers fans were equally angry at the fan and the replay hub in New York for botching the call.
I had Mookie hitting 37 bombs. If he finishes with 36, I’m gonna be pissed. #Dodgers
— Doug McKain (@DMAC_LA) April 2, 2023
pic.twitter.com/OP1HzpfRnQ
That fan who just cost Mookie a HR and the Dodgers a run should be banned from Dodger Stadium for life, escorted out by security in handcuffs and publicly shamed on the way out
— David Rosenthal (@_therealdrose) April 2, 2023
Fan interference on a clear Mookie home run 5 feet above the wall. It’s amazing these people can’t get it right on replay
— Adam Scherer (@ShipMyMoneyDFS) April 2, 2023
That was a Mookie Betts home run the replay system is a joke smh
— J (@JDodgersLA) April 2, 2023
These umps in New York have money on the UNDER for the Dodgers win total because that was a clear home run from Mookie Betts.
— Klein25 (@Klein25) April 2, 2023
You can see both points. First, if the fan hadn’t tried to catch the homer, it would have never needed to be reviewed. But second, the replay was questionable at best. It was pretty clear that ball was going over the wall without the fan’s interference. Getting the call right would have meant giving Betts his home run, which would have been his second of the season. Instead, they ruled it a double.
The call may impact Betts’ overall season stats, but at least it didn’t impact the outcome of the game. Betts ended up scoring a run as the Dodgers stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Trayce Thompson hit three home runs to make up for Betts’ lost one and LA beat their division rivals 10-1 to improve to 2-1.
The series with the Diamondbacks will conclude on Sunday. We’ll have to see if Betts can get his vengeance then.