A young Phillies fan audaciously stole the home run ball from Luis Arraez’s historic cycle and threw it back into the outfield.
Baseball is awesome, especially when baseball is producing historic moments like Luis Arraez becoming the first player in Marlin’s history.
Baseball fans, unfortunately, are not always awesome. Sometimes they’re downright obnoxious.
Take the Phillies fans who goaded a young girl into stealing a home run ball and then throwing it back into the outfield in some twisted display of fandom. The fact that the ball was part of Arraez’s cycle makes the whole thing more silly.
Kids steals Arraez home-run ball from the cycle and throws it back
by u/Whodatsaint in baseball
A video posted on Reddit showed the whole thing unfold as the girl was sent, presumably by her parents who can be heard directing the show, to take the ball from the Phillies fan who caught Arraez’s seventh-inning home run.
Phillies fans took throwing home run balls back to a weird extreme
Let’s start here: Throwing opposing home run balls back onto the field is a tradition in baseball. It’s a moment of defiance and there’s nothing wrong with those who decide to participate in the practice.
But come on now. There’s also nothing wrong with someone choosing to keep a souvenir from their trip to the ballpark, even if an opposing player put it in their hands.
If a fan doesn’t want to throw a ball back, forcing them to do so is lame. Especially when the ball has historic significance like the one thrown back on Tuesday.
Some lighthearted ribbing is one thing. Sending a child to do your dirty work by forcibly prying the ball out of random stranger’s hands is weird.