The adult baseball fan who stole a ball away from an 11-year-old girl earlier this week has finally spoken out after being hit with brutal criticism online.
At the bottom of the fifth inning of the game between Tampa Bay and Cleveland on Monday night, Guardians star Daniel Schneemann smashed a two-run home run to the right field.
Max Quinn attempted to catch it but botched his attempt, leading the ball to squirm out of his hands and bounce towards a young girl, Evelyn.
She raced down the steps to try and grab it and take home a memorable souvenir, only for Quinn to fumble around on the floor alongside her and grab it before she had the chance.
Quinn then lifted it into the air in an embarrassing celebration before returning to his seat, leaving the girl devastated.
A clip of the incident quickly went viral and caused fury on social media, with baseball fans labeling the man ‘pathetic’.Â
Max Quinn issued a groveling apology after he went viral for stealing a ball from a young girl
Cleveland Guardians fan Quinn was blasted online after getting caught in the act on Monday
Quinn failed to catch the ball and then raced over to grab it before Evelyn, 11, could reach it
Evelyn looked devastated by the incident as fans went on to destroy Quinn on social media
But Quinn has finally spoken out and issued a groveling apology to Evelyn during an appearance on a local radio show.
‘I’m so utterly sorry for everything that’s transpired,’ Quinn told WJW on Wednesday.
‘I made a bad decision; a lot of bad decisions. I’m paying for it online. I made a lot of mistakes that night.’
Quinn claims he ‘didn’t know it was a little girl’ at the time, saying all he could see was an outstretched glove going for the ball and it was a ‘heat-of-the-moment thing’.
The moment was caught on TV and the broadcast later revealed Evelyn’s younger brother approached Quinn to ask for the ball back during a commercial break. Quinn refused at first, which he said was ‘a big mistake’.
‘I went back to my seat, and I heard it from the fans and the people. I was sitting there, and I’m like, “I won’t be able to sleep at night if I don’t give this ball back”.Â
‘I didn’t do it in a timely fashion. I didn’t do it in the right way. If I could do it all over again, I would have just grabbed it, given it to her and been done with it,’ he said.Â
Quinn eventually gave the ball back to Evelyn several innings later, which her mom later confirmed on social media.
To make matters worse, Quinn’s store was hit with a slew of 1-star reviews on Google in the aftermath. They were eventually removed and he’s been forced to delete his social media accounts due to threats and harassment.
‘It’s been a rough 24 hours – 36 hours,’ he said. ‘I’ve also learned the internet is a very mean, scary place. A lot of people have said a lot of really mean things.’
During the interview with WJW, Quinn was shown a video message recorded by Evelyn in which she said she forgives him.
Quinn was shown a video message recorded by Evelyn in which she said she forgives him
Tampa Bay’s sideline reporter Ryan Bass went up to the stands and gave Evelyn her own ball
Evelyn’s mom revealed in a Facebook post later on Monday that Quinn had given the ball back
‘Hi Max, thanks for giving us the ball back. We forgive you for it,’ Evelyn said. ‘We know the internet has been going wild over this. We hope they forgive you.’
‘I’m just trying to do good by myself and my business,’ Quinn added. ‘I hope that people in the city and people here in Cleveland and Guardians fans and everybody can forgive me, give me a second chance. That’s all I can ask for.’Â
Fortunately, there was a happy ending to the story thanks to the Rays’ broadcast crew’s sideline reporter, Ryan Bass.
After watching the incident unfold, Bass raced up to the section the girl was sitting in and handed both Evelyn and her younger brother a baseball. She was seen crying as Bass walked away.
‘Just exercising all of that bonus girl dad energy,’ Bass posted alongside a clip of the moment.
Evelyn’s mom also revealed on Facebook later on Monday night that Quinn did, in fact, give the ball back.Â
Nikki DeVore posted: ‘You know my son went to ask him for the ball, which was so brave.
‘I just have to say thank you to Tampa for broadcasting it, when Cleveland broadcast cut to puppies rather than show the man stealing the ball from a child.
‘I cannot thank Ryan and Tampa enough for making things right. Thank you all for looking out for ALL young baseball fans. It is top-notch sportsmanship.Â
‘My daughter and I cried happy tears. I am so proud of my kids for how they handled tonight, and so proud of Tampa and its fans for standing up for my child.
‘The pressure resulted in the man giving her the home run ball back 4-5 innings later towards the end of the game. It wasn’t the same but we appreciated him doing the right thing. But we appreciate all of you even more.’
The incident drew comparisons to the infamous ‘Phillies Karen’, who bullied a man into handing over a home run ball that he’d snagged for his son back in September.
