A Los Angeles Dodgers supporter has found himself at the center of an online debate after catching a ball in the stands and declining to hand it to a child seated nearby.
The incident occurred during Tuesday night’s Game 3 of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, when the fan caught a foul ball at Dodger Stadium.
Someone sitting close by filmed what happened next and repeatedly shouted: “Give it to the kid! Give it to the kid!”
The fan, who was wearing a Yoshinobu Yamamoto jersey, responded excitedly: “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 turned toward the young Braves supporter, who was sitting a few rows behind. The child appeared visibly devastated by the exchange.
The video quickly spread online, reigniting the debate over whether adults who catch baseballs should give them to children nearby. While some fans insist that a ball caught fairly belongs to the person who grabbed it, others believe passing it to a child is the right 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 defended the decision, writing: “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 agreed that keeping the ball was perfectly acceptable: “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 commenter took an even firmer position, saying: “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 person added. “I’m not talking about the fan who’s only there because the tickets were free. It’s a real thing!”
Another fan dismissed the criticism, posting: “Leave the drama! The guy caught the ball fair and square. Children must also learn they don’t get everything they want.”
EXPLORE MORE: Bus Passenger Shoots Driver After He Refused to Stop, DA Says
However, many others were stunned that the Dodgers fan chose not to give the ball to the child.
One critic wrote: “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 commenter said: “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,” another person wrote. “Anyone that blatantly avoids a chance at being a good person, like this guy, should be shamed for it.”
The dispute is the latest in a series of recent incidents involving fans battling to claim home run balls and other pieces of baseball memorabilia.
Last year, a Philadelphia fan dubbed “Phillies Karen” online went viral after pressuring a young boy to surrender a home run ball he had caught from Harrison Bader.
Other spectators filmed the confrontation, during which the woman shouted, “That was ours,” before the boy’s father handed over the ball. She was subsequently subjected to widespread criticism on social media, with numerous harsh memes circulating online.
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.’
DON’T MISS: How Houthis Built a Multibillion-Dollar Network Despite Sanctions