A mountain of controversy arose on a ball hit by Jose Altuve in the first inning of Game 4 of the ALCS between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros.
Jose Altuve hit a deep fly to right field. Without obstruction, the ball clearly would have gone over the wall. But there was obstruction, and a lot of it.
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 18, 2018
Ultimately, Altuve was called out.
There’s a lot to look at here. First of all, the fan clearly interfered with Mookie Betts’ attempt to make the catch.
The difference in this #Astros game right now. Photo by @coomerchron pic.twitter.com/HJbdFkSned
— Greg Rajan (@GregRajan) October 18, 2018
But it’s also worth noting that if the Betts and the ball were over the fence, fan interference is moot.
While Joe West was indecisive in initially calling the play, he did rule Altuve out. That ruling was upheld (but not confirmed) on replay.
Twitter went nuts over the ruling.
Are you going to eject the fans for that?
If not, it should be a home run.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 18, 2018
What a bizarre, absurd call
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) October 18, 2018
After seeing the replay, Jose Altuve should absolutely have a home run on that play. The fans interfered with Mookie Betts, but the ball was in the stands. It should be their right to do whatever they want.
That's a bad rule.
— Rob Goldberg (@TheRobGoldberg) October 18, 2018
After replay, Altuve is ruled out. Memo to fans, keep your hands to yourself. That fan cost Altuve a home run. #Redsox #Astros #alcsgame4 https://t.co/adVo9YT9xx
— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) October 18, 2018
They're calling Altuve out and sending Springer back to first. Stunning. They're saying Betts would have caught the ball, a heckuva assumption.
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) October 18, 2018
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
https://twitter.com/sleepy_john2/status/1052727565113274368
Mookie robs Altuve, fan robs Mookie of one of the great catches in ACLS history. But justice is done.
— Mikey Adams (@MikeyAdams420) October 18, 2018
We’ll certainly be hearing about this controversial play for a while.