Freddie Freeman's historic walk-off Grand Slam in the 10th inning may be what people will remember about Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. But, just an inning before, it was looking like the New York Yankees would take a late 3-2 ninth inning lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers before the umpires made a crucial call.

With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres came up to face Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech and crushed a ball to deep left-center. While it may have initially looked like a home run, it was ruled as fan interference and Torres had to retreat back to second base and settle for a double.

The Dodgers fan in the grey Dodgers jersey with a blue hoodie and blue Dodgers hat clearly reached over the wall and caught Torres' ball before it had the chance to either enter the stands or hit off the wall, forcing the umpires to make a difficult decision.

With Torres on second, the Dodgers decided to intentionally walk Juan Soto to bring up Aaron Judge with two-on and the chance to put the Yankees ahead. Blake Treinen came in to relieve Kopech, and got Judge to pop out, setting up Freeman for his 10th inning heroics.

Did the umpires get the fan interference call on Gleyber Torres' hit correct?

New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres (25) hits a double in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium.
© Sage Osentoski-Imagn Images
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While Yankees fans were fuming after the umpires ruled that Torres' hit a double instead of a home run, it was clear that they made the correct decision.

Per rule 6.01(e), “When there is spectator interference with any thrown or batted ball, the ball shall be dead at the moment of interference and the umpire shall impose such penalties as in his opinion will nullify the act of interference.”

That means that the umpires believed that if the fan had not interfered, the ball would have hit off the wall and Torres likely would have ended up with a double anyway. In this case, it looks like the umpires got the call correct. The Dodgers fan reached well over the wall to catch the ball and bring it up over the stands.

Even if the umpires got the call correct, that does not make it any less frustrating for the Yankees that a play like this came at such a crucial time in Game 1 of the World Series.