Arizona Diamondbacks Ban Fan Known as ‘Home Run Thief’ for the Rest of the Season After Interference Call
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An Arizona Diamondbacks fan known as the “Home Run Thief” has been banned by the team after interfering with a ball in play during a recent game.
On Tuesday, the team announced it banned the man — 55-year-old David McCaskill — for the rest of the season. In a statement obtained by The Athletic, the Diamondbacks said that McCaskill “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.”
The incident happened during the Diamondbacks’ Monday night game against the San Francisco Giants. In the top of the eighth inning, Giants third baseman Christian Koss hit a fly ball to left field. As he got closer to the ball, Diamondbacks outfielder Tim Lawa reached up to try to make the out, but McCaskill made the catch instead. Center fielder Alek Thomas — who was just feet away from the play — immediately looked up to McCaskill and appeared to have some words for him.
That home run, which would’ve tied the game at 3-3, was overturned and ruled a double. The Giants went on to lose the game 4-2.
McCaskill confirmed to The Athletic that Thomas did speak to him:
Tawa and center fielder Alek Thomas immediately looked into the crowd. McCaskill said Thomas recognized him from his time at the park and called him by name. “Dave, why do you keep doing this?” Thomas said, according to McCaskill.
McCaskill has actually been at this for a few years. As detailed in the report, he first made a name for himself in Phoenix’s Chase Field in 2022:
In 2022, then-Giants catcher Joey Bart hit a drive that McCaskill snagged from his front-row seat at Chase Field. After review, however, umpires ruled McCaskill had leaned over the wall to make the catch. Bart was awarded a double. He remembered this when McCaskill approached him a year later and asked him to sign the baseball — on the ball, next to Bart’s signature, are the words, “Home Run Thief.”
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