Matt Geiger Interferes With Carlos Pena On Foul Ball During Rays-Twins Game (VIDEO)

Infielder Carlos Pena #23 of the Tampa Bay Rays battles a fan for a foul ball against the Minnesota Twins April 22, 2012 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays won 6 - 2. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

If the Rays had lost Sunday's game against the Twins, the blame wouldn't have been placed on the bullpen.. or clutch hitting.. or defense. No. If Tampa had blown a 5-2 lead in the eighth and eventually lost, the blame probably would have gone to.. Matt Geiger.

That's right. The former NBA center had a good seat along the first base line for the Rays-Twins game and in the eighth inning, a foul ball was hit in his direction. With a man on first base and one out, Twins left fielder Josh Willingham hit a high fly ball to foul territory sending first baseman Carlos Pena to the stands. As he got in position to make the catch, Geiger suddenly lunged for the ball and interfered with Pena. The ball went off Geiger and into the hands of another fan behind him, resulting in a strike to Willingham.

According to Rays beat writer Joe Smith, the former 76rers, Hornets and Heat center was relocated to a different section, not ejected.

Willingham ended up grounding out and Tampa Bay went on to win 6-2.

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Comments

[Patrick08]

12:22 AM on 06/25/2012

god the sixes wasted so much $$$ on him

[jaycee3]

05:50 PM on 04/24/2012

MUTT Geiger strikes again!!!

[myopinion2]

02:31 PM on 04/24/2012

Geiger couldn't control the tip, just as in basketball.

[Politidelic]

12:05 PM on 04/24/2012

As a former professional athlete he should have realized that was a boneheaded move.

[bmwracer]

10:17 AM on 04/24/2012

Geiger must've thought he was going for a rebound.

[twinsuns7]

01:29 AM on 04/24/2012

My familiarity with baseball is limited to watching The Sandlot 15 years ago, was the ball in play or not? If the ball was in play then he shouldn't have reached for it and let the baseballer do what he is paid to. If it wasn't in play they shouldn't have moved him for what I have always understood to be a tradition of baseball, fans catching foul balls. What I do know is that as the regular season moves on there will be multiple stories about a player who has broken one of baseballs "unwritten rules," this makes little to no sense, personally, because I couldn't name a single baseballer who is famous for his talent, but several who made their name by being notorious steroid abusers.

[tnana23boys]

08:21 PM on 04/23/2012

If you don't want the audience interfering with the game put a fence between them and the field of play. Simple fix.

[Quotidien]

01:13 PM on 04/24/2012

There already is a fence. Anything more and players won't have the ability to reach over and catch the foul ball.

Baseball is perfect, as is.

[paddles]

08:05 AM on 04/25/2012

F&F from a fellow baseball fan!

[kelleyajones]

09:29 AM on 04/25/2012

Baseball IS perfect, F&F! Geiger was thoughtless and disrespectful to fellow pro athletes.

[garganto]

05:39 PM on 04/23/2012

Hey Matt..Nice try....you should get free tickets to a Yankee game for that one...give Girardi a call.

[mikebirish]

05:38 PM on 04/23/2012

Not ejected huh? Seems like another double standard to me. Any regular sports fan who did that would be shown the door, but an NBA player interfering with a MLB game? No way! Let's relocate him and hope nobody notices, boys.

[cameron d]

07:53 PM on 04/23/2012

You want to be the guy who tells him he has to leave? I wouldn't.

[myopinion2]

02:33 PM on 04/24/2012

why. He had every right to do what he did. He was in the stands, not over the field.

[Buffalo49]

05:35 PM on 04/23/2012

Lucky he wasn't at a Cubs game.

[yeeej]

05:11 PM on 04/23/2012

Butter fingers!!!!!!!

[hparker5]

05:07 PM on 04/23/2012

Typical of a NBA player, this is why I no longer watch NBA games. It is no longer basketball, its now getto thug ball. Its like watching a getto gang fight. Certainly not worth my time.

[canthelpit]

05:40 PM on 04/23/2012

amen!!!!!!!!!!!

[cameron d]

07:53 PM on 04/23/2012

How is that typical of an NBA player? If that's typical somebody had better give Steve Bartman an NBA contract.

[smp276dp]

04:59 PM on 04/23/2012

He was not a good ball player

[madenusa]

04:34 PM on 04/23/2012

Besides having stone hands, he just got caught up in the excitement

[victorzeller]

04:25 PM on 04/23/2012

No one ever said basketball players were intelligent.