The Philadelphia Phillies on Monday scored the first walk-off victory on a catcher’s interference call since 1971. (Watch the video below.)
In other words, fans waited 54 years for the bat of the Phillies’ Edmundo Sosa to nick the mitt of Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to allow in the winning run, MLB.com reported.
The replay challenge clearly showed the interference, overturning a no-call to give the Phillies the 3-2 victory in Philadelphia.
“Really tough to happen in that moment,” Narvaez said.
Sosa got credit for the RBI.
“The Phillies have won on a catcher’s interference! Baseball is amazing,” an announcer on the broadcast said.
While it hardly constituted the heroics of a towering blast to win it, the victors appreciated the historical nature of what transpired.
“It’s strange,” Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler said in an interview. “People always say, ‘I’ve never seen that before on the baseball field.’ It’s just another one. I wonder how many more times you can say that? I mean, Sosa, he loves the big moment. It’s not what he probably pictured, but it got the job done.”
However, Sosa saw greatness in the rare feat.
“To be honest, this just feels exactly like a home run,” he said through an interpreter, per MLB.com.
The last time catcher’s interference produced a walk-off victory was Aug. 1, 1971. The man who committed the mistake was Johnny Bench, the Hall of Fame catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, enabling the Los Angeles Dodgers to win, USA Today reported.
