You're All Wrong: This Houston Astros Kid Didn't Come Close to Pulling a Jeffrey Maier

The Houston Astros got on the board first in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series thanks to Carlos Correa’s opposite-field home run. But not without controversy. A young fan in a great throwback jersey reached out over the top of the fence and muffed the catch.

The play wasn’t reviewed and Correa rounded the bases. Everyone made the same Jeffrey Maier joke.

We are still a few hours or minutes away from discovering this kid’s, name, hometown, and entire life story. He’ll soon be a celebrity like Maier became after his unpunished reach in the 1996 ALCS. But this was no Maier. Not even close.

Maier extended way out and grabbed a ball Baltimore’s Tony Tarasco was in position to catch. Aaron Judge had no chance to snag Correa’s line drive. Maier’s was a clear example of interference while this Houston incident was much murkier.

It’s tough for me to believe the ball Correa hit — if this kid keeps his hands to himself — doesn’t nick the top of the wall and go over based on its trajectory. I’ve watched the replay a dozen times feel pretty confident.

The ball clips the top of the glove, not the bottom.  Maier’s situation was clear-cut. This one is, at worst, too close to call.

The important thing here is that the little guy enjoy his inevitable 15 minutes of fame.