If you are old enough to have lived through all 30 of these summers and autumns that connect back to 1996, back to the birth of the last genuine dynasty sports has seen, this was almost too much to take in. The symmetry. The congruity. The orderliness of a baseball being pulled back to earth, right near the top of the outfield fence.

Pulled back by equal parts gravity and fate.

In 1996, it was Derek Jeter who hit the ball. That one went to right field. That one was intercepted by a Jersey kid named Jeffrey Maier just before it reached Tony Tarasco’s glove. That one was allowed to stand, regardless of how unfair it might’ve been to objective eyes. That one is really what launched this 30-year era of Yankees baseball, so many Octobers, so many memories, so many raucous nights in The Bronx. A bookend on the left.

In 2026, it was Anthony Volpe, who spent the first part of his career anointed as the New Jeter, who has made a most satisfying redemptive comeback across these past few weeks. This one went to left field. This one was intercepted by a fan clad in Yankees gear who is a grown-up, not a 12-year-old kid, and clung to his anonymity, before it reached Victor Mesa Jr.’s glove.