The insane ballpark rule behind Padres’ brutal NLDS heartbreak

The Padres got screwed Saturday night.

Not by the umpires. Not by replay. Not even by the rulebook.

They got screwed by the roof of the stadium. 

With San Diego trailing the Brewers 3–2 in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the NLDS, Ty France stepped in against closer Trevor Megill with a runner aboard and one out and launched a towering drive toward the left-field corner. France watched from home plate, believing he had just flipped the game — and perhaps the series — with one swing.

Then American Family Field decided to change history.

France’s moonshot struck a cable attached to the retractable roof, changed direction and dropped into the glove of Jackson Chourio for the strangest second out imaginable.

The Padres challenged. The call stood.

And, incredibly, the umpires got it right.

American Family Field’s ground rules state that a ball striking the roof, truss or cable above fair territory remains live. If a fielder catches it, it’s an out. San Diego could challenge whether the ball struck the structure over fair or foul territory, but not whether France had been robbed of a likely go-ahead homer.

“We joked about it at the umpire meeting today about what would happen if the ball hit the roof,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “And it was unlikely, but it happened.”

Of course it did.

This is the same ballpark that produced last postseason’s pinball-machine madness when Max Muncy’s drive ricocheted off Sal Frelick’s glove and the wall before Milwaukee somehow turned the chaos into a double play.

France’s blast was even crueler for the Padres though. 

The fly ball out had a 49-degree launch angle, and an exit velocity of 105 MPH. Those similar numbers at American Family Field have netted seven home runs, so nobody can say for sure where the ball would have eventually landed. France thought it was gone. Even Brewers catcher William Contreras believed it had enough juice to leave the ball park. 

“If that ball doesn’t hit there, it might break the glass up there,” Contreras said.

Instead, Milwaukee’s roof became its 10th defender on the field on Saturday night. 

Game 2 of the best-of-five NLDS is on Sunday at 4:00PM EST.

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