Orioles fans watching the Houston Astros face the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday night surely saw the parallels to the 1996 ALCS, when then-12-year-old New York Yankees fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence to interfere with Orioles right fielder Tony Tarasco’s ability to catch a fly ball from Derek Jeter.
The umpires ruled it a home run for Jeter, tying Game 1. And it turned the tide of the ALCS, with the Yankees eventually winning the series in five games.
It was kind of a Maier call in reverse Wednesday against the Astros.