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A viral video from a Major League Baseball game is making its way around the internet Thursday, and it’s caused an eruption of response amongst fans on social media.
The clip shows a young fan swiping an important home run souvenir caught by another attendee, then throwing the ball back into the field of play to the delight of the crowd.
As is custom in many ballparks around the league, when an opposing player hits a homer at your home field, you throw it back. But while it may be customary, not everyone participates in the ritual. Especially when that ball is part of a historic baseball moment.
On Tuesday, the Phillies hosted the Marlins in what would be an exciting extra inning contest. Viewers were met with this exact scenario in the seventh inning of action.
Miami slugger Luis Arraez belted a home run into the left field seats at Citizens Bank Park to give his team a 5-3 lead. A Phillies fan in attendance caught the baseball and decided to hold onto it as a souvenir.
Who knows? This could’ve been his first MLB game or the first ball he’s ever come away with in person. Whatever the case, he has the right to the ball if he wants it.
As it turns out, the homer was part of what would become the first cycle in Marlins franchise history.
That didn’t stop the Philly Faithful from shaming him into giving up the ball so that it could be thrown back into play.
When the opponent hits a homer in Philly you don’t get to enjoy the souvenir
(via u/Whodatsaint) pic.twitter.com/ZkAFmkvTCh
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 13, 2023
Not only do they antagonize the fan, but the crowd encouraged a child to do their dirty work and take the ball. It’s then swiftly tossed onto the field to the sound of cheers.
The internet immediately erupted with anger.
One person wrote, “This made me viscerally angry. I could only imagine him subsequently hitting for the cycle only made this worse.” Someone else said, “This is just bad form.”
Another fan commented, “Poor guy, if he decided to not give the little girl the ball the crowd probably would have heckled him to make him feel bad.”
It was definitely a lose-lose for this Phillies fan, who’s now out of a piece of history. Maybe next time, they should leave the decision up to the person who catches the ball.