Internet sleuths working hard to reveal identity of woman who took home run ball away from a child: What we know so far
In a now-viral incident, the Phillies’ win over the Marlins saw a heated spat over a home-run ball.
A baseball fan sparked social-media outrage after cameras caught her taking a home-run ball away from a young boy during the Philadelphia Phillies’ win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.
After center fielder Harrison Bader had hit a homer into the stands during the Phillies’ 9-3 victory at Miami’s LoanDepot Park, a group of fans could be seen scrambling to grab the ball.
A man in a red Phillies T-shirt emerged with the sought-after souvenir, before handing it to a boy in matching attire and hugging him.
The pair, who have been identified in the U.S. media as father and son, were then accosted by an apparently angry woman wearing a replica Phillies playing jersey. After a lengthy discussion, the man gave her the ball before she stalked back to her seat.
“You took it from me!”
In footage recorded by a fan close to the confrontation, the woman can seemingly be heard yelling at the man: “You took it from me! You took it from me! It was in my hands!”
The boy did not go home empty-handed, however. A Marlins representative was later filmed approaching his seat and handing him a goodie bag, to cheers from surrounding spectators. “I’m so sorry,” she can be heard telling the boy.
After the game, the Phillies posted photos of the boy meeting Bader and being presented with a bat signed by the player.
“Enjoy your fame lady”
The woman at the center of ‘ball-gate’ has not been identified, although social-media users have been trying to figure out who she is. Several names have emerged, but have been discovered to be false.
She has been widely criticized by internet commenters, with one X user writing: “What a disgusting person. She should be banned from all games.”
Another commenter said: “Oh I can smell the entitlement from here. Enjoy your fame lady.”
Others have noted that the woman might have been best served by following the example of the man in this oft-shared clip:
“Deal with it like an adult”
The social-media response has not been totally unanimous, though. “I think the dude was in the wrong,” one poster said. “He ran clear across the bleachers to grab the ball from her.”
Another user agreed, but said the women’s actions were nonetheless “ridiculous”.
“I’m with you, I think it was tacky on his part,” the X user wrote. “However, if that happened to me I would just deal with it like an adult and not run over and demand the ball from him. That’s just ridiculous.”
It is not clear from the footage whether or not, as she claimed, the woman had the ball in her hands when the boy’s father took it into his possession.
Man says sorry after U.S. Open cap snatch
The LoanDepot Park incident comes days after a similar viral episode in which a man could be seen snatching Kamil Majchrzak’s cap as the tennis player handed it to a young fan at the U.S. Open.
The man later took to Facebook to apologize, saying he had made a “huge mistake”. “I was convinced that the tennis player was passing the hat in my direction,” he explained.
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