I guess the rationale is that he would've made the catch if the fan hadn't interfered...I agree with you it's kind of dumb... should be a foul ball or redo.
Only on balls that are not already in play, ie a double down the line that a fan reaches over and touches = batter gets the base he was advancing to. Fly balls like Bregman's are not technically in play until they touch something, and the fielder gets the benefit of the doubt as to him catching it.
The O's would have won the ALCS had that not happened, IMO. Also makes you wonder the ripple effect: Does Mussina stay in Baltimore after 2000? Is the Yankees dynasty thwarted? Oh the possibilities. But man, that was the mother of all blown calls.
We only have 1 hit??? I mean I know we lost altuve and obviously Correa has been MIA since forever but jeez Btw where’s Gattis??
So Smith exits the game after one batter, and no outs. Pitcher's spot is up second next inning, instead of Gattis I bet they go Kemp, pitcher takes Tucker's spot most likely, though I prefer Gonzalez. Oh the strategy! Yes, I like it, though many casual fans don't appreciate it. Edit: And JD Davis takes Smith off the hook from any potential runs.
