Yankees vs Phillies A-Rod Homers On A Replay

During the postseason games leading up to the World Series, A-Rod and the rest of the Yankees bats had been on fire. The Phillies pitching staff had kept the Yankees hitting fairly quiet going into game 3.

A-Rod was 0 for 8 so far at bat in the World Series. Of those eight times at bat, he had struck out six times.

Facing Phillies’ pitcher Cole Hamels in the fourth inning, A-Rod stepped up to bat with one out and Mark Teixeira on first. The Phillies had a 3-0 lead.

A-Rod hit a fastball to just inside the right field foul pole and it appeared to have hit the top of the fence. The ball bounced back into the field and it was initially ruled a double.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi went out and talked with the umpire. A meeting of the six umpires took place on the field and then four of the umpires went inside to review the play under instant replay.

There was some question as to if the ball had hit the top of the fence or possibly even a fan. While the discussions were taking place, TV replays showed that the ball had clearly hit a TV camera and then bounced back into the field.

After a quick review of the video by the umpires, it was ruled a home run for A-Rod and the Yankees. Ironically, the umpires had discussed this exact scenario of a ball hitting that camera during their pre-game walk though. That camera will be repositioned for Sunday’s night game 4.

A-Rod’s fourth inning home run, was the first time in postseason history that instant replay had been used. This was only the 66th time instant replay has been used since the MLB started using it on August 28, 2008.

A-Rod already has a history with instant replay home runs. The first ever play reviewed under instant replay was a home run by him on September 3, 2008.

The two run homer tighten the score 3-2 with the Phillies still leading the Yankees. But more importantly it was A-Rod’s first hit in the World Series. The Yankees bats were showing signs of life.

The hit was also A-Rod’s sixth home run of the 2009 postseason. This ties him with retired Yankees Bernie Williams on top of all Yankees for the most home runs in a single postseason.

A-Rod’s replay home run in the Yankees vs Phillies World Series game 3 made history as the first play ever reviewed by instant replay in the postseason. The hit also gave the Yankees a spark of life to come back and win the game 8-5. The Yankees have a 2-1 lead going into game 4 on Sunday. Also see Yankees vs Phillies A-Rod Homers On A Replay.

Written by Denise Clay
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