See also
- Steve Bartman – fan involved in a similar interference incident at the wall
Jeffrey Maier | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 15, 1983 |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Involvement as a spectator in Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series |
Jeffrey Maier (born November 15, 1983) is an American baseball fan who received media attention for an incident in which he was involved as a 12-year-old at a baseball game. During Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles, Maier deflected a batted ball, hit by Derek Jeter, into the Yankee Stadium stands for what umpires ruled to be a home run, rather than fan interference. His interference altered the course of Game 1, [1] as the resulting home run allowed the Yankees to tie the score. [2] They emerged victorious from the game and won the series four games to one en route to winning the World Series.
On October 9, 1996, the Yankees trailed the Orioles 4–3 in the bottom of the eighth inning when shortstop Derek Jeter hit a deep fly ball to right field. Right fielder Tony Tarasco moved near the fence and appeared "to draw a bead on the ball" [3] when the then-12-year-old Maier clearly reached over the fence separating the stands and the field of play nine feet below and snatched the ball with his glove. While baseball fans are permitted to catch (and keep) balls hit into the stands, the Major League Baseball rulebook states that spectator interference is to be called if "a spectator reaches out of the stands, or goes on the playing field, and touches a live ball". [4]
Right field umpire Rich Garcia immediately ruled the play a home run, tying the game at 4–4, despite the protest of Tarasco and Orioles manager Davey Johnson (the latter was ejected in the ensuing argument).[ citation needed ]
In right-field, Tarasco...going back to the track...to the wall...and what happens here!? He contends that a fan reaches up and touches it! But Richie Garcia says no...it's a home run!
The Yankees won the game in the eleventh inning on Bernie Williams' walk-off home run. The Orioles maintained their protest of the Maier play after the conclusion of the game, but their protest was denied by American League President Gene Budig because judgment calls cannot be protested. After viewing the replay, Garcia admitted that there was spectator interference, and he maintained the ball was catchable. [5] Had Garcia called spectator interference, he would have then used his own judgment to determine what the most likely outcome of the play would be –either an out or awarding Jeter a given number of bases.[ citation needed ]
The Yankees went on to win the series against Baltimore, four games to one, as well as the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. As a result of the play, a railing was added behind the right field wall at Yankee Stadium to prevent fans from reaching over it.[ citation needed ]
Meanwhile, in New York, Maier became a minor celebrity. The New York Daily News allowed him to sit behind the Yankee dugout later in the postseason. The boy appeared on national talk shows.[ citation needed ]
Maier grew up in Old Tappan, New Jersey, and played baseball there at Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan. [6] He then played college ball at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he was a first-team all-NESCAC selection. He also played briefly for the Pittsfield Dukes in the New England Collegiate Baseball League in the summer of 2005.[ citation needed ]
In 2006, he became Wesleyan's career hits leader and was featured on ESPN. The New York Times reported that Maier hoped for a career in baseball. That spring, The Washington Post and MLB.com reported that, ironically, the Baltimore Orioles might draft him –though the team denied ever having an interest in him. [7] Maier was also invited to a try out for the New York Yankees. However, he was not selected by any team in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.[ citation needed ]
Maier worked in the summer of 2006 as a scout in the Cape Cod League for ESPN's Peter Gammons and also as an instructor for Frozen Ropes Baseball Training Center. Maier later became a special consultant for the New Haven County Cutters [8] and had several internships, including with the YES Network. In addition, he served as an extra and assisted with baseball skills training for the actors in ESPN's miniseries about the 1977 Yankees, The Bronx Is Burning . [9]
Maier is married with three sons and lives in New England. [10]
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the American League's eight charter teams in 1901, the franchise spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns in 1902. After 52 years in St. Louis, the franchise was purchased in 1953 by a syndicate of Baltimore business and civic interests led by attorney and civic activist Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The team's current owner is David Rubenstein. The Orioles' home ballpark is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992 in downtown Baltimore. The oriole is the official state bird of Maryland; the name has been used by several baseball clubs in the city, including another AL charter member franchise which moved to New York in 1903 and became the Yankees. Nicknames for the team include the "O's" and the "Birds".
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a baseball stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s. It was completed in 1992 to replace Memorial Stadium. The stadium is in downtown Baltimore, a few blocks west of the Inner Harbor in the Camden Yards Sports Complex.
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Elrod Jerome "Ellie" Hendricks was a U.S. Virgin Islander professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1968 through 1979, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the World Series in 1970. He also played for the Chicago Cubs (1972) and New York Yankees (1976–1977). In 2001, he was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.
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The 1996 New York Yankees season was the 94th season for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. The 1996 New York Yankees were managed by Joe Torre, and played at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
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The 1996 Baltimore Orioles season in which the Orioles finishing second in the American League East with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses and qualifying for the post-season as the Wild Card team. The Orioles broke the all-time record for most home runs hit by a team with 257. During the season, four Orioles scored at least 100 runs, four drove in at least 100 runs and seven hit at least 20 home runs. The Orioles pitching staff allowed 209 home runs, 1,604 hits and had an ERA of 5.15. The Orioles defeated the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS and then lost in the ALCS to the New York Yankees.
The 2012 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2012 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners and a fourth team—the winner of a one-game Wild Card playoff— played in two series. TBS carried most of the games, with some on MLB Network or TNT.
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