Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp launch their appeals for overturning a home run call and ruling it fan interference. Photo: Duane Burleson, Associated Press
Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp launch their appeals for overturning a home run call and ruling it fan interference. Photo: Duane Burleson, Associated Press
In the end, there wasn't much to discuss. It looked like a home run, it was ruled a home run, and replays confirmed it was a home run. But A's right fielder Josh Reddick was seething after Tuesday night's Game 4 of the Division Series, wishing Victor Martinez's drive had been granted its natural flight.
The A's had a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning when Martinez led off with a deep drive toward the right-field bleachers. Reddick leaped in an attempt to catch it, but as it crossed the horizontal yellow line signifying home run distance, a fan reached out and touched the ball. The umpiring crew seemed unanimous in ruling it a home run, but after a vigorous protest by A's manager Bob Melvin, five umpires retreated to an off-field location to review the replays.
The fan, identified after the game by the Associated Press as Tigers season-ticket holder John Bendzinski, said he was aware of the rules regarding interference.
"Dude, I was getting that ball no matter what!" he told the AP. "I'm not supposed to reach over, but I didn't. I was right on the line."
After the game, umpire crew chief Gary Darling was asked what he saw on the field.
"Home run," he said.
"What did you see on the replay?"
"Home run. It was clear he was not going to catch the ball, so it was clearly going to be a home run. There wasn't any replay evidence to turn it another way."
Reddick didn't agree - at all.
"There was no doubt I was going to catch that ball," he said. "Hundred percent. I looked at the replay after the game; it was headed right for my glove."
The configuration of Comerica Park's bleachers allows for fan-interference issues - as opposed to, say, the massive brick arcade at AT&T Park's right field - and Reddick doesn't like the setup. "When fans are so close to the field that they can affect a ball in play, it can completely change the game - and it did. It changed the momentum for them, and for us. You can look at it as home-field advantage, but it's absolutely frustrating that a fan can change the outcome of the game."
Martinez, who became a centerpiece of Game 3 after his confrontation with A's reliever Grant Balfour, called his home run "a run that we really, really needed. The A's are a great team, and we all know that. It was a huge run to come back and tie that game."
As for Reddick, the incident became something he'd have to get over. "We can't let it affect us," he said. "It's got to be over. Can't let it carry over to tomorrow and Thursday. Sit on it tonight, then let it go. We've got to get back home and take care of winning this series."
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