Lou Pickney's Online Commentary
Jeffrey Maier
Monday
October 9, 2006
It was ten years ago today that the now famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Jeffrey Maier incident took place. For New York Yankees fans, it was an ushering in of an era of four World Series wins in five years (and a nouveaux hatred by jealous fans of other teams.) For Baltimore Orioles fans, it marked a free-fall that continues to this day.
In Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, the Orioles lead the Yankees 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Derek Jeter lead off the inning, while Baltimore had reliever Armando Benitez on the hill. In the at bat, Jeter drilled a Benitez offering to deep right field. Orioles RF Tony Tarasco went back to the wall, leapt to try and make a catch... only for the ball to be snatched into the stands by 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier.
|  | Maier altered the course of baseball history.
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A wave of protesting from Tarasco, Orioles manager Davey Johnson, et al ensued. But it was to no avail. Right field umpire Rich Garcia ruled it a home run, and that was that. In today's game, perhaps it would've been overturned. But in 1996, the play stood.
The aftermath? New York defeated Baltimore in that game in 11 innings, won the ALCS 4-1, and went on to beat Atlanta in the 1996 World Series in six games. The Yankees took four of five World Series from 1996-2000. Baltimore, on the other hand, hasn't made the playoffs since then, mired in mediocrity and saved from the AL East cellar only by the help of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Maier gained short-term fame, appearing in interviews around the country. He didn't manage to come away with the home run ball, which actually bounced off his glove (you think a kid is going to come out of a Bronx scrum with the baseball in that situation?) But he ended up playing college baseball at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, and ironically ended up as that school's all-time hits leader.
October 1996 was a good time for me. I'll always have fond memories of that month, from the partying I did to the friends I had to the Yankees' run to the World Series championship. Good times? You bet.
Armando Benitez later faced the Yankees as a member of the Mets in the 2000 World Series... where he blew a save opportunity in Game 1. History repeated itself, though not by any sort of outside help; the Yankees have since installed a railing over the right field fence to prevent any future fan interference.
One more thing: thumbs up to the Yankees for apparently changing their mind and deciding to bring back Joe Torre for the final year of his contract. He deserved it, and while the Yankees will likely lose out on Lou Piniella as a result, it was the right thing to do.
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