They might have scored another run, but a fan interfered with the ball and prevented Girardi from sprinting home from first.

"In our security's mind, a fan clearly reached out and interfered with a ball in play," Cerrone said.

A fan interfered with the ball, causing Valentine to moan because he thought pinch-runner Melvin Mora might have scored from first had the ball rattled into the corner.

In that situation, the league rules call for the umpire to make a judgment on where the ball would have landed if the fans had not interfered.

More recently - including last week during a game against the Texas Rangers - fans pelted the outfielders with paper and interfered with play.

The Orioles argued - nay, screamed - that the young fan had interfered with a ball in play, but the umpires ruled Jeter's hit was a home run.

Has any team ever stolen two games because their fans brazenly interfered with play?

Could Brian McRae have scored an extra run for the Mets if a fan hadn't interfered?

But after viewing a post-game replay, Garcia said he saw the fan interfere.

Again, NBC showed technical sophistication, with replays that proved a young fan in right field had interfered with Tony Tarasco's ability to catch the fly ball.