Victor Mesa Jr. found himself in the middle of the kind of playoff chaos that can flip a stadium in a heartbeat.
In Game 3, the Rays outfielder was in left field when Anthony Volpe sent a deep fly ball toward the wall. Mesa went up for the play, but a fan reached fully over the barrier and grabbed the ball.
The umpires initially ruled it a home run, then went to replay and changed the call to spectator interference. That turned the game on its head, and the Yankees fan who took the ball was thrown out and escorted from the stadium.
What followed was pure hostility from the crowd. Even though Mesa Jr. wasn’t the one who caused the problem, Yankees fans turned on him anyway, firing off middle fingers and screaming curses in his direction.
Fan footage showed Mesa standing his ground and taunting the fan base back. In response, the crowd chanted, “F-k you” to him.
The result was a crushing ending for New York. The Yankees were swept by the Rays, and the loss in Game 3 sealed a 4-3 defeat in the ALDS. They came into Wednesday trailing 2-0 and needing a win to stay alive at Yankee Stadium, but Max Fried was hit hard early, giving up home runs to Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa Jr.
For the Yankees, it was another painful finish to a season that now ends with the franchise having gone 17 straight seasons without a title.
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