Sports Bettors Flame Fan For Not Catching Schwarber ‘Home Run’

• A Phillies fan caught the attention of ESPN announcers yesterday when he did not attempt to catch a Kyle Schwarber home run that was ruled a ground rule double
• Sports bettors who placed Schwarber home run props immediately flocked to social media to criticize the fan for not attempting to pull the ball over the fence
• In all likelihood, if the fan had attempted to catch the ball it would have been ruled fan interference, not a home run

A little different type of post here, but one I feel should be made in defense of a fan from last night’s Phillies vs. Mets matchup at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Incorrect sports bettors are criticizing a Phillies fan for making no attempt to catch a Kyle Schwarber hit that caromed off the very top of the right field railing, which popped back into the field of play, eventually being ruled a ground rule double after an umpire review.

ESPN color announcer immediately Eduardo Pérez critiqued the fan for making no attempt to catch the ball a glove he brought to the game and haul it over the fence for a home run. It also raised the ire of sports bettors who placed prop bets on Schwarber’s chances to hit a home run against the Mets.

Guess what? The fan did the absolute right thing in that circumstance and in no way should have made an attempt to catch that ball.

Fan Played it Correct

I was shocked to hear Perez criticize the fan almost immediately after replay showed he made no attempt to catch Schwarber’s long fly ball, which hit the very top of the right field railing before bouncing back into the field of play. The railing on top of the right field wall is in play at Citizens Bank Park and must completely clear it to be a home run. There are portions of the outfield where the railing is behind the wall and not in play, but not for this particular portion of the right field wall.

“Okay. I have a bone to pick with the bucket hat guy that’s right there with his mouth open. You have to make that play. You have a glove in your hand and you did not make the play. You make that play and it’s a home run for the Philadelphia Phillies. Why are you covering yourself when you have a glove in your hand? That defeats the purpose, Karl,” Perez said.

I have to believe Perez was likely joking during the commentary, because what he says is patently incorrect.

More than certainly if the fan had touched the ball with his glove, even slightly, the hit would have been ruled a ground rule double and the fan would have been critiqued endlessly for interfering with a Schwarber “home run.” It’s nearly impossible for the fan, in the moment, to not lean over the railing even slightly to catch the ball. You can see a number of fans in the highlight of the hit with their hands over the railing trying to catch the ball.

The ball was not going over the railing, as we see, so likely if the fan had touched the ball it would have been labeled interference. Schwarber would have ended up on second either way, and the fan would have been ejected from the stadium (fan interference results in an automatic ejection).

He did the right thing, didn’t interfere, and Schwarber hit a ball that could not have physically traveled any farther in that particular part of Citizens Bank Park without being ruled a home run.

Schwarber currently sits at 32 home runs on the season, leading all of Major League Baseball, and was a popular home run prop bet on sports betting platforms. Sports Betting Dime’s own Chris Amberly featured a Schwarber home run as the home run prop to bet for the matchup.

As is to be expected, many sports bettors were not pleased with the result.

Incorrect Criticism of the Fan

As is typically the result of a controversial call that has a sports betting impact, sports bettors flocked to social media to share their displeasure. Unfortunately for most of these sports bettors, their criticism of the fan is incorrect.