'Get over it,' says Phillies fan who interfered
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'Get over it,' says Phillies fan who interfered
Matt Gelb
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — In the end, the interpretation of the rules, back-and-forth about who did or didn't request a replay, and the frustration of 14 lost innings of baseball could have been totally avoided had two Phillies fans not reached into the field of play.
Alex Dicandio and Augie Fitzhenry, two friends and students at the University of South Florida, paid $15 for their tickets in the first row. Mike Berardino from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found the two outside Sun Life Stadium after they were ejected and they pleaded ignorance.
The ball was coming right at them. So they reached over, and possibly changed the outcome of a game.
"The Phillies are 45 games over .500," said Fitzhenry, who wore a green shirt and touched the ball first. "Get over it."
They're actually 40 over .500 now. And yeah, Game 136 will likely have no bearing on the outcome of the regular season.
But those comments, uh, probably won't sit well in Philadelphia. The two fans said they were harrassed as they left the ballpark and that was probably just the beginning.
Berardino filmed a quick video interview with the fans:
So, what say you?
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
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Comments (44)
Fans should never reach into the field of play, and in this case, these guys ventured about 6 inches to a foot into the field of play, causing the rightfielders glove to close prematurley...But at the same time, what are fans in the first row of a stadium to do, just get hit by balls like sheep?...These stadiums should be constructed where a human arm,hand, baseball cap, or net cannot enter the field plain and simple...Chin up boys, you got your 15 minutes of fame.— bearsfriend- I hit golf balls at sheep all the time, so don't question it.— bearsfriend
Comment removed.- I wish bad things for Augie and Alex and do not wear any Eagles jerseys
- Wheels looks like Joe West. This needs to change— stoky
- whatever its not this fan fault, the outfielder was never going to catch this ball. the fan is a scapegoat.he had already missed the ball seconds b4 the fan came into play. the ruled double shoulda stayed. it was never a HR either, the ball was centimeters close tho— rayne215
- GET OVER THIS-- IT'S A STINKIN' BASEBALL! KEEP YOUR STUPID HANDS/ARMS OUT OF THE FIELD OF PLAY! GROW UP PUNKS, YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS STICKING ANY PART OF YOUR BODY INTO THE PLAYING FIELD--EVER!
— DONDEN31 - That was crazy...game over...focus on the Braves...one game at a time.— Phillyfan666
- Oh boy, more attention craving "fans". They fit right in with the taser guy, and the vomit kid.— road515
- Comment removed.
- Philthydelphia: how clever. That one is about as old as the crust in in your drawers, Sportsmonkey. — The Pack Leader
- They're a couple of idiots. "In the heat of the moment", they would have done the same thing in a playoff game and cost us an important win. Simple rule fans, if a batted ball is in play - don't touch it.— tiger4366
- Why did Philly.com give these 2 morons their two minutes and nine seconds of unnecessary fame. Both are self-absorbed "idiots" who are a bi-product of a society that seems to embrace this kind of behavior. I hope they are on scholarship at the University of South Florida because if I were there parents I would ask the question what I am getting into return my investment in this childish, juvenile, and immature behavior. Unbelievable. Shame on you Philly.com for promoting this.— dudega
- Agree. Loser move by Philly.com giving the two punks more attention. Never return to Philly you USF punks!!!!!!!!!! Go fail your classes.
— shawnmac - In 1996, this exact situation changed a long fly-out (or a double off the wall) into a home run that changed the fortunes of a playoff series. I'm glad the umpires got this call right, regardless of whether the fielder was going to catch the ball. Maybe the rules need to be clarified for this type of situation, but the outcome was certainly fair.
And the fans deserve to be ejected. They reached into fair territory and essentially competed with the outfielder to catch the ball. Since when is that OK? It's not even OK in foul territory when a fielder can make a play.— XDreX - Those two JOHNoffs should be banned to the armpit of South Florida for eternity.— NewMick314
- The irony is these two guys have more brains than the dope managing the team.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- These stories make the game more interesting.— jskrad
- Hat backwards with sunglasses up on the hat? Yep, looks like we have some first class tools here.— AreaMan
- The guy is a jerk, to be polite - and so is any fan in any sport who interferes. He deserved to be ejected, and is lucky he wasn't beaten to a pulp.— Phil
- So, I wonder what the dope Alex Dicandio was saying on his cell phone after interfering with the Pence hit? "Hey, Mom, look at me. I'm the f'ing dope that just cost the Phillies two runs." Well, at least, when he graduates from the U of South Florida with his basketweaving degree he can earn an excellent living on the streets in Miami.— misterhman
- I'll tell you what they're supposed to do...they're supposed to move out of the way of the ball until it's clearly out of play. Does this mean seats in the front row don't entitle their occupants to first dibs on a souvenir?? YOU BET IT DOES. The fans were 100 per cent out of line, and that's why they were, and should continue to be, ejected if they behave that way. If they don't like that, then THEY should get over it. Just another symptom of the "it's all about ME" generation...disgusting.— cblank
- @AreaMan - too funny! Two typical jimmyjohns...— Sam Crow
- Who knew that Lonewolf had two kids in college ?— NewMick314
- What I've been wondering for years is.... why can't all stadiums put something in between the field of play and the fans in the outfield to prevent this from happening? Whether it be a bed of flowers, such as LF at Citizens Bank Park, a line of mesh that acts like a basket, or something similar. Anything to prevent morons from reaching down and touching a ball in play or a player's glove. I guess the big question in all of this is-- did Cholly ask for the play to be reviewed for a HR or not? He says no and West says yes. One gives West the latitude of looking for interference and one doesn't.— jttripper
- I expected more from these kids. The Univ. of South Florida is a great high school!— pedge
- You knew coming into this series that bad things were going to happen when you saw that singing cowgirl Joe West and his crew of umps. Joe West has given the Phils the shaft for over 10 years going back to problems he had with the team in the 90's and he continues to rule against the Phils on any controversial call. That being said, what the h'll is Herndon doing on this team. Is our minor league system so bad that this guy belongs in the majors? Charlie, Utley 0 for 7, Pence 0 for 6, Polanco has nothing, isn't it time to give these guys a day off once in a while and let Mayberry and the bench play awhile.— bigtbone
- Hey moron you changed the out come of a base ball game.— Jeff C.
- we should track these guys down and give them some Philly lovin— lonewolf100
- Let's see, obviously not bright enough to be pre-law or pre-med. Definitely not engineers. Quite possibly communications majors since they wanted the spotlight. No wait.. They must be political science majors! Damn the consequences, taxes will take care of whatever we spend or our children. Who cares about interfering with a game. And being too stupid to think they did something wrong.— GHK
- We're 7.5 games up in the division. The natural reaction to a ball flying at you is to grab it. They just seem like two college kids that got caught in the wrong spot at the wrong time. I can't believe people on here are degrading these kids. In the long run, our Magic Number for the playoffs is 9, nothing else really matters. If you think these kids should be jumped or beaten..... you need to get a life, seriously.— 5forprez
- this is the second time in marlins history that the marlins got away with those fan interferences,,remember the playoff game against the cubs in chicago,,a foul ball was hit by one of the marlins batters into left field and alou reached for the grab which a cubs fan interfered and was ruled a foul ball,alou got pissed because the ball was in his glove,the next pitch was a hit by the same batter which cost the cubs the playoff loss and got eliminated,,no out was called against the marlin s batter,so this cubs fan got blackballed in chicago and received death threats,,pence got called out,,but if the situation was reversed ,,the marlin batter would be awarded the double...joe west must have a thing against the phils,,just wait till he gets to ump the phils homegames..fans will give him an earful of big boos..— hardball
- What do you mean ONLY SECOND TIME in baseball history a player's been called out for fan interference. It happens far more frequently than that.— eaglesfan
- I'm just curious where was the instant reply rule? You think the Yankees would have gotten that call? neither do I. Which is why I want to beat the Yankees in this world series this year.— male
- no matter how many games ahead they are it doesnt give him the right to tell us to get over it. next time your at a game pay attention and not worry about being on tv.. losers....— phillysportsnut
- Do yourselves a favor and stay in Florida... dopes.— albertpa
- The biggest disgrace here is that this happened on the road. How can the Marlins have any self respect when Phillie fans overrun their stadium to the point where they can't do their jobs without being harassed? Home team rules. I don't care if the stadium is full of Phillie fans - home team is responsible for fan behavior and the visiting team shouldn't be punished for it. We got the Braves coming up, so front row ticket holders wear those Braves jerseys and take away so Braves runs.— fly eagles fly
- good one mick— stoky
- everyone commenting on here is a fraud. You ALL would have done the same thing. Please, what were they supposed to do? Put their arms out as if preventing anyone to move and then maybe be hit by the ball? It is not like they dove on the field. Any object coming at you, you are going to try and catch?— tremo12
- "Get over it." ? Are you TRYING to be the next Steve Bartman? No, it's not a playoff game, and the Phils do have a large lead. Hope the Braves don't nick the division from the Phils by a game.— verve
- Comment removed.
- Everyone seems to be blaming the 2 idiot fans who interfered with the ball but the real reason the Phillies lost is because of the garbage still in the bullpen. Herndon is the worst pitcher I have ever seen, to load the bases 3 straight innings is totally ridiculous. To keep this joke of a pitcher on the roster is idiotic. 3 home runs the day before in one inning and then give him another attempt the next day is absurd. The managers lost this game.— eaglesman1
- with a hat that big how did he miss the ball?— phillysportsnut
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