Joe Ryan is on the mound with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the third. He throws an 84 mph slider, and Xander Bogaerts crushes it into the left field seats. The ball goes under the outfield fence padding but still counts as a homer. In the stands, the ball bounces around and ends up between a woman’s legs. She closes and squeezes her feet, appearing to have possession. Then a man sitting next to her digs in with both hands and pulls the ball out. He holds onto it, doesn’t give it to a nearby kid, and celebrates. She looks confused and frustrated.
The big question is whether her leg trap counts as possession. There’s some precedent—outfielders have recorded outs by securing balls between their legs. By that logic, maybe she had it. She was going for the ball with one hand, possibly because her other hand held a hot dog. Meanwhile, he used both hands and some creative leverage. No one intervenes, and they sit next to each other the rest of the game.
Fans are left to decide if the move was fair game or a foul play. There’s no rulebook for stadium ball possession, but pulling a ball out of someone’s legs feels questionable. Especially when they’re mid-hot dog.