A young boy attending a Friday, September 5, MLB game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Miami Marlins had his heart broken after a woman took a home run ball from him. Thankfully, one player made it right.
A confrontation erupted in the stands at loanDepot Park after Phillies center fielder Harrison Bader hit a home run into the stands. Initially, a woman seated near the ball’s landing spot attempted to grab the ball, but a father ran over, snatched the ball and proudly gifted it to his son.
The woman quickly confronted the father and son, ultimately taking the ball into her possession.
The moment went instantly viral, with people weighing in on online as to who was in the wrong. Thankfully, Bader made it up to the boy by inviting him and his family members to a meet and greet, where he gifted the child with a signed baseball bat.
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According to video obtained by multiple outlets, the Marlins’ staff also gave the boy a host of baseball-related gifts.
While the two organizations worked to rectify the viral situation, the internet wasn’t as quick to forget — or forgive.
“This is crazy. That dude got that ball fair and square,” Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy wrote via X on Friday. “Put a pin in that moment in that kids life. His future may be irrevocably altered by this event.”
Businessman Marcus Lemonis, the founder of Camping World and star of CNBC’s The Profit, also chimed in.
Harrison Bader Megan Briggs/Getty Images
“I’ll send this young man and his family to the @MLB World Series on me. Oh and you just won an RV as well,” he wrote on X.
The exchange was reminiscent of an event that took place at the US Open on August 29. In a video shared online on August 31, Polish CEO Piotr Szczerek was captured taking a hat that tennis pro Kamil Majchrzak attempted to gift to a young boy while signing autographs.
Szczerek was seen snatching the hat out of Majchrzak’s hands before he could finish giving it to the boy. The child attempted to get the hat back from Szczerek, who looked it over before shoving it inside a friend’s bag.
Szczerek later apologized for his actions in a message posted on his company’s social media accounts on September 1.
“Today I know that I did something that looked like I deliberately took a souvenir from a child,” Szczerk wrote at the time. “It wasn’t my intention, but that doesn’t change the fact that I hurt the boy and disappointed the fans.”
He also acknowledged he was not the intended recipient of the hat.
“The cap was given to the boy, and an apology is due to the family,” Szczerk continued. “I hope that I have at least partially repaired the harm.”
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“This situation has shown me that one moment of inattention can undo years of work and support,” he added. “This is a painful but necessary lesson in humility for me. Therefore, I will be even more actively involved in initiatives supporting children and young people and in actions against violence and hate. I believe that only through actions can I rebuild lost trust.”
