Sport2 min(s) read
LA Dodgers fan has savage response after stadium urges him to give foul ball to young chil
A major debate about baseball fan etiquette has been sparked by a Los Angeles Dodgers fan after catching a foul ball in the crowd earlier this week.
The fan, who was wearing a Yoshinobu Yamamoto jersey, unexpectedly caught a ball that came flying off the pitch during Tuesday’s game.
The adult fan refused to give the child the ball
Another fan who sat nearby managed to catch the lucky moment on camera. However, the video, which was later shared on social media, did not go viral for the right reasons.
In the footage, the person behind the camera can be heard shouting: "Give it to the kid! Give it to the kid!"
Seconds later, the camera pans to an adorable tot with a glum look on his face. The focus of the video then returns to the fan holding the valuable baseball, and catches him shrugging while saying: "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!"
Within moments, the proud Dodgers fan’s guilt appears to have subsided as he posed with the ball and showed his friends.
The video has since gone viral, with one X account that reposted it getting over 2.6 million views in less than 12 hours. The original TikTok video also has nearly a million views.
Many people thought keeping the ball wasn't unreasonable
Unsurprisingly, the comments section of the videos has opened up an interesting, and often heated discussion about whether adult fans are obliged to give children balls or other trophies they catch at sports games.
Some die-hard sports fans believe an adult who caught a ball fair and square should not be shamed if they want to keep it, as they could have spent their lives dreaming of the moment they get to touch something their favourite player has.
However, others feel like an adult fan should be entitled to give their catch away to a younger fan.
One X user said: ”That kid doesn't even know wth is going on and will forget about the ball within minutes.”
Another added: “It would have been a nice gesture but there should be no expectation to give it to the kid unless he wrestled it away from him or something.”