A Los Angeles Dodgers fan has sparked fierce debate online after he caught a ball in the stands and refused to give it to a child sat nearby.
During Game 3 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, a fan picked a foul ball out of the air at Dodger Stadium.
A fan sat nearby captured the aftermath on video and could be heard yelling: ‘Give it to the kid! Give it to the kid!’
But the excited fan, who was wearing a Yoshinobu Yamamoto jersey, replied: ‘I’m sorry, I can’t! I’m not giving it to the kid! I feel bad, but I’m not giving it to the kid!’
The camera then panned to the young child, who was supporting the Braves, sat a few rows behind and he looked devastated.
The moment has gone viral and sparked a debate over whether fans who caught a ball should hand them over to a child if they’re sat nearby. Some believe whoever catches it keeps it, but others claim handing it is the moral thing to do.
A Dodgers fan has sparked fierce debate online after he refused to give a caught ball to a child
Fans sat nearby called for the fan to hand it over to the child sat behind but he refused to do so
One fan posted: ‘Had a foul ball literally drop right in my lap. It’s sitting on the shelf with other memorabilia. Been to many games and never came close to a foul ball. Just because I’m an adult doesn’t mean it wasn’t special for me, too.’
Another commented: ‘If you caught it fair and square I have no problem with you keeping the ball at all, honestly. Is it a nice gesture to give it to the kid? Sure, but you don’t HAVE to, anyone making them feel bad for it should stop.’
A third added: ‘Kids aren’t special. If you genuinely caught it, it’s yours. The kids have way more time to catch one in the future.’
‘You have true baseball fans who go their entire lives wanting to catch a baseball,’ another added. ‘I’m not talking about the fan who’s only there because the tickets were free. It’s a real thing!’
One fan posted: ‘Leave the drama! The guy caught the ball fair and square. Children must also learn they don’t get everything they want.’
But there were plenty of fans on the other side of the argument who were shocked that the fan didn’t hand the ball over to the child.
One posted: ‘You don’t have to, that’s true. But it is revealing of one’s character if they don’t, and it’s not revealing anything particularly positive.’
Another added: ‘There’s obviously nothing “wrong” with keeping it. It’s just a little weird to not give it to a kid….’
‘Being a good person isn’t hard,’ said another. ‘Anyone that blatantly avoids a chance at being a good person, like this guy, should be shamed for it.’
The incident in the stands is the latest in a long line of situations with fans fighting to secure home run balls in recent years.
A Philadelphia fan, who became known online as ‘Phillies Karen’, went viral last year after forcing a young boy who snagged a home run ball from Harrison Bader to hand it over to her.
Quick-thinking fans caught the interaction on camera. ‘That was ours,’ the woman yelled – before the boy’s dad handed over the ball he had picked up. The woman became the victim of a social media grilling with a host of ruthless memes circulating around the internet in the aftermath.
Lincoln Feltwell, the boy involved, told NBC 10 Philadelphia at the time: ‘I wasn’t very happy that we had to give it to her, but we can’t win. She was going to get it anyways.’
Earlier this season, footage appearing to show a Chicago Cubs fan shoving a woman while attempting to retrieve a home run ball also sparked outrage on social media.
Pete Crow-Armstrong blasted a two-run home run into the famous left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field against the St. Louis Cardinals in August.
The ball landed among the spectators, sparking a scramble from fans to try and claim it. But eagle-eyed viewers spotted one fan appearing to shove a woman aside in the efforts to claim the ball, as another fan eventually got their hands on the souvenir.
The clip was quickly circulated on social media, along with a post reading: ‘Putting your hands on a girl over a ball in the stands is peak loser behavior.’
