There might be 162 games in every MLB regular season, but a big reason fans tune in every night is because there's a chance something new will be seen at any moment. Exhibit A: Many Boston Red Sox fans just saw their team lose to the Philadelphia Phillies because of a catcher's interference call for the first time.
Red Sox lose on catcher's interferencepic.twitter.com/A2uLyYss86
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) July 22, 2025
The bases were loaded in the bottom of the tenth inning with the game knotted at two apiece. What looked like a harmless pitch out of the strike zone from Boston reliever Jordan Hicks turned out to be a game-ending catcher's interference call, as Edmundo Sosa's bat barely grazed Carlos Narvaez's glove on a check swing.
Red Sox fans are understandably furious about how this game ended, and want the rule book completely rewritten.
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Red Sox fans are irate after team loses in excruciating fashion
The Red Sox just came up with a new dumbest loss of the season — a catchers interference walk off loss is gonna be tough to top.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 22, 2025
I’d be livid. You can’t call catchers interference when the batter doesn’t swing https://t.co/iAIDqXGTeG
— Hunter Gleason (@lil_GLEASON_23) July 22, 2025
I know that's the right call, but ending a game on a catcher's interference review on a check swing is a 0/10 way to end a baseball game. Should be illegal tbh
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) July 22, 2025
Walk off catchers interference I’m actually done man pic.twitter.com/f1DWydrCh1
— KutterIsKing (@KutterIsKing) July 22, 2025
I don’t think catchers interference should count if the ball is already in the glove when it makes contact with the bat?
— Jed 🇬🇧 (@TigersJUK) July 22, 2025
Am I crazy here? Where was the interference? It was already in the catchers glove… pic.twitter.com/t51aq0pkDN
There are a couple of things for frustrated Red Sox fans to keep in mind. First, this play was, by rule, catcher's interference. The rule, according to MLB.com, states: "The batter is awarded first base if the catcher (or any other fielder) interferes with him at any point during a pitch." Sosa was, unquestionably, interfered with, and should've been awarded first base.
Second, the odds of the team escaping the bases-loaded jam were next to none, especially with the top of Philadelphia's order due up after Sosa. The odds weren't zero, but they were close to it.
With that being said, it's hard to get on Red Sox fans for being frustrated because Sosa did not swing and the ball was already in Narvaez's glove. The interference had absolutely no impact on that pitch, and yet, it decided the game. Any fan base would be upset, especially with that moment coming in such a big spot. By rule, the umpires made the right call, but that doesn't mean Red Sox fans should like that the rule is written this way.
If we're being honest, some sort of addendum to the rule, not penalizing catchers when the batter wasn't trying to swing and when the ball is already in the mitt, should be put into place. Narvaez has to know that he has to pull his glove back, but it's hard to get too mad at him considering the circumstances. It was just a really unlucky break for Boston at the end of the day, and that bad break ended up costing them the game.