Yankees' Spencer Jones Ruled Out on 106.4-mph Fly Ball After It Hit Tropicana Field Roof

Q: Did Tropicana Field's newly rebuilt roof just rob the Yankees of a crucial playoff rally?

No. Tropicana Field’s rebuilt roof created a strange playoff moment, but the evidence does not show it robbed the Yankees of a likely rally. The ruling was correct under Tropicana Field’s long-standing ground rules. Spencer Jones’ fly ball hit the B ring in fair territory, which means the ball remained live. Because Victor Mesa Jr. caught it after the carom, Jones was out. Had the same ball hit that ring in foul territory, it would have been dead. Umpires reviewed the play and confirmed the call. The bigger question is whether the roof took away a dangerous hit. Statcast suggests probably not. Jones’ ball left the bat at 106.4 mph with a 44-degree launch angle, an extremely steep trajectory more consistent with a towering popup than a driven home-run ball. Reporting on the play indicated it was tracked at roughly 367 feet before contacting the roof, still well short of the 404-foot center-field wall, and similar contact to center at Tropicana this season had not resulted in home runs. That does not mean the play was meaningless. It erased a Yankees plate appearance in a game the Rays won 5-2 and in a series where Tampa Bay moved ahead 2-0. In a postseason game, any lost baserunner or extra out can matter. But framing it as the newly rebuilt roof “robbing” New York overstates it. The roof did affect the play, yet by rule and by the ball’s underlying data, it was much more a legal Tropicana quirk than a stolen home run or clearly crucial rally.

Q: Could the exact same hit have been a home run if it struck a different part of the dome?

Yes. At Tropicana Field, the same fair ball could have been ruled a home run if it had struck one of the lower catwalks — the C or D ring — instead of the B ring. That is the key distinction in the stadium’s ground rules. Fair balls that hit the upper two rings, A or B, remain live, which is why Spencer Jones’ ball could be caught for an out after it came down. Fair balls that hit the lower two rings, C or D, are automatic home runs. If a fair ball gets stuck on one of the upper rings rather than dropping back onto the field, it is a ground-rule double. Any ball striking the catwalks in foul territory is dead. So the answer is yes in a rules sense: identical contact, same swing, same exit velocity and launch angle, but contact with a different fair-territory part of the dome could have produced a different ruling. That said, the available tracking suggests Jones’ specific ball was not especially likely to become a home run on its own. Statcast measured it at 106.4 mph and a 44-degree launch angle, and reporting on the play noted that similar batted balls to center at Tropicana Field had not typically cleared the 404-foot wall. In other words, it could have been ruled a home run if it hit the lower rings, but not because it was clearly headed over the fence.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Oct 6

Spencer Jones was called out in the second inning of ALDS Game 2 after his towering fly ball struck Tropicana Field's roof structure and was caught by Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr.
Umpires upheld the play after a conference because the ball hit the stadium's B ring in fair territory, where Tropicana Field's ground rules keep the ball live rather than dead.
Tampa Bay went on to beat New York 5-2, and the unusual play came with the Rays already leading 1-0.
Baseball Savant data showed Jones' drive left the bat at 106.4 mph with a 44-degree launch angle, but similar balls this season have not cleared a center-field wall for a home run.

Sources

Yahoo Sports6h ago

Yankees Spencer Jones Out After Fly Ball Hits Tropicana Field Roof

WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando9h ago

Yankees rookie Spencer Jones flies out off catwalk in Game 2 of ALDS at Tropicana Field

WABC-TV5h ago

Yankees rookie Spencer Jones flies out off catwalk in Game 2 - ABC7 New York

13 Sources

Did Tropicana Field's newly rebuilt roof just rob the Yankees of a crucial playoff rally?

Could the exact same hit have been a home run if it struck a different part of the dome?

Why does MLB still allow a stadium's catwalk to decide the fate of a high-stakes postseason game?

Yankees' Spencer Jones Ruled Out on 106.4-mph Fly Ball After It Hit Tropicana Field Roof

Summary

Sources

Insights

Related Stories

Sources

Related Stories