It was Jeffery Maier but in reverse for the 2026 New York Yankees.
With a runner on in the bottom of the sixth inning, and trailing 4-2, Yankees short stop Anthony Volpe crushed a Griffin Jax fastball toward the left field wall. And for a split second it looked like the ball had cleared the fence just past the outstretched glove of left fielder Victor Mesa Jr., tying the game at four.
The Yankee Stadium faithful exploded! Volpe's homer signaled the second time that the Yankees stormed back to tie. Surely it was only a matter of time before the Bronx Bombers would win this game.
But, it was all a mirage.
Thanks to modern day technology and the fact that Baseball now reviews every home run that is close to the wall, it became painfully obvious that a fan had reached over, touched the ball and pulled it into the stands.
The review overturned the home run as fan interference. Instead of touching home, Volpe was rewarded with an RBI double to cut the deficit to 4-3.
But that would be the final time the Yankees would score.
Thanks to one fan's ignorance and selfishness the Yankees season ended in a three game sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays who were chanting "Daaaaa Yankees Lose!" in the clubhouse afterwards.
Oh, how ironic karma can be sometimes. Because almost 30 years to the day, October 9, 1996, in an ALCS game the Yankees trailed 4-3, short stop Derek Jeter hit an opposite field drive to right that was pulled away from Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco. The culprit: Jeffery Maier.
Back in 1996 there was no instant replay review process. The call was a home run for Jeter. The Yankees won that game, would go to win the World Series, and begin a dynasty that became one of the most dominant the sport of baseball has ever seen.
So here we are 30 years later, and the man who was ballyhooed as the heir to Jeter's short stop throne, a young man in Volpe who had been a huge Yankees fan because of Jeter, should hit this fly ball that didn't result in a two-run homer, instead ending another disappointing Yankees trip to the postseason.
Since the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, New York has managed to appear in the Fall Classic only once: in 2024.
And under Aaron Boone, the Yankees have now been knocked out of the division round four times. Whats more, the Bombers have seen the visiting team celebrate on the field at Yankee Stadium in each of their last four postseason appearances: 2022 against Houston in the ALCS; 2024 against the Dodgers in the World Series; 2025 in the ALDS against the Blue Jays, and 2026 against the Rays in the ALDS.
It has to be frustrating for the Yankees.
They didn't have Aaron Judge for most of the season, and not at all in the playoffs. Giancarlo Stanton missed most of the season, but returned for two at bats in the playoffs. He was 0-for-2.
The questions that face the Yankees are manifold. What do they do with Aaron Boone who has a year left on his contract.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the expectation is Boone will return. Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman have been high on Boone for years, but the fact is this: in nine years, Boone has yet to win the World Series. It's a pinnacle that has evaded him ever since he got the job in 2018.
One would think that after nearly a decade of little postseason sucess, to which Boone is 27-30, the Yankees would make a change, but it's not likely.
Moreover the Yankees have questions about the roster. What will happen to Judge and Stanton moving forward? Do the Yankees keep Volpe who struggled for the most part this year and was demoted at one point?
Do the Yankees keep Austin Wells despite his base running blunder in this postseason? Do the Yankees say good bye to Jazz Chishom and Ryan McMahon?
While New York had great pitching in 2026, it was not enough to get past a team like Tampa Bay. And now with a future so uncertain thanks to the pending lockout, the Yankees have to truly look in the mirror and decide what path they want to go on next. It's time.
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