NBC Sports Bay Area
Audio By Carbonatix
A menacing Arizona Diamondbacks fan made himself the center of attention for a fifth time in four years by swiping a ball from the grasps of an MLB player. In doing so, he continued a controversial streak of game stoppages.
The fan reached over the left field fence to grab a flyball from Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Tawa. It resulted in an umpire review.
The play came in a Monday night matchup between Arizona and San Francisco. Giants second baseman Christian Koss belted a laser deep to the warning track, and just over the head of a leaping Tawa.
It looked as if Tawa had a read on the ball. As he jumped up to make the grab, a second glove appeared from the stands.
Should this have been ruled a home run for Christian Koss? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/4TnBAoTwjp
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) July 1, 2025
The Diamondbacks fan’s interference led to a review. Eventually, the play resulted in a double for the Giants as opposed to a game-tying home run.
Was it the right call? It’s hard to tell. Replay showed the catch being made above the yellow line atop the outfield wall. The angle of the clip, however, doesn’t provide definitive evidence as to whether or not the ball would’ve cleared the fence.
Rather than a 3-3 game, Arizona kept its 3-2 lead. Koss would be stranded on the basepaths. The Diamondbacks eventually won, 4-2.
This Diamondbacks fan has a history of causing game stoppages.
In fact, this is the fourth consecutive season in which he’s been at the center of an interference review. In some cases, those catches came with the home team at the dish. In others, like the most recent instance, Arizona was in the field.
This Diamondbacks fan has been involved in an umpire review in FOUR STRAIGHT seasons pic.twitter.com/wMCtKCAIqs
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 1, 2025
A fifth incident later arose on social media after that initial clip was posted. The fan was the cause of two separate game stoppages in the 2023 campaign.
Hes done it 5 times, twice in 2023 pic.twitter.com/F0855HVYaf
— Taters (@Taters____) July 1, 2025
The fan was removed from his seat along the front row of the left field wall on Monday. Viewers are calling for stiffer punishment.
“All fans should start interfering since the MLB lets this guy return to the ballpark every year and refuses to set a fair precedent,” one social media user wrote on X.
We’ve seen fans punished in the past for making themselves a part of the action. A Yankees fan was tossed from a World Series game after interfering with Mookie Betts just last year.
Will this Diamondbacks fan continue to be a mainstay beyond the outfield wall at Chase Field, and if so, will he continue to be a menace for players and umpires? Time will tell!
Update: Arizona has banned the fan for the rest of the season
The Arizona Diamondbacks fan who interfered with a ball in play Monday night for at least the 4th time is now prohibited from attending any more games at Chase Field for the remainder of the season.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 1, 2025
“While our policy is not to publicly disclose information about our season ticket holders, the Arizona Diamondbacks are making this statement due to public speculations and multiple media inquiries regarding the fan interference during last night’s game,” the team said on Tuesday.
“This particular fan has been involved in multiple offenses at Chase Field. Consequently, we have terminated his Advantage Member account, and he is prohibited from returning to Chase Field for the remainder of 2025. This fan will have the opportunity to return to Chase Field in 2026 so long as he meets certain terms and abides by our Fan Code of Conduct.”