When going to a baseball game, DON'T be this guy. pic.twitter.com/pAeiRN6Q2X
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 22, 2018
Social media users were outraged on Sunday when a Twitter video was released of a Chicago Cubs fan who seemed to be getting away with a dastardly deed – and even though it turned out to be a misunderstanding, the incident highlighted true sportsmanship in everybody involved.
The video, which was published by sports outlet Cut4, depicted a Cubs player tossing a baseball to a young boy in the stands. The ball hits the floor, rolls behind the little fan’s seat, and is then snagged by an older man in the row behind him.
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The man can be seen handing the ball to his wife as the boy looks on, and despite it being an incriminating image, the situation is not how it seems.
Thinking that the boy’s foul ball had been stolen by another spectator, the youngster was later given another ball that was autographed by Javier Baez, the Cubs’ infielder.
The boy was then delighted to be the proud owner of two game balls… that’s right, two game balls.
A @javy23baez signed ball should take care of it. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/4YzUlG8qfN
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 22, 2018
While the Cubs’s kind gesture towards a young fan may have been heartwarming enough, several Twitter users came forward to elaborate on the older man’s actions.
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Chuck Mycoff was one of the spectators who had been sitting next to the man throughout the game. He took to social media to say that even though the gentleman looked like he had been stealing a prized possession from a kid, he had been catching foul balls throughout the game so he could give them to youngsters sitting around them.
A few innings previously, the man had caught a foul ball and given it to the very boy who received the Baez autograph – hence why he ended up with two game balls.
I was sitting next to this guy. That ball was between my feet. The kid already had a ball the same guy helped him get. He handed it to his wife. She took a picture of it and they gave it to the kid next to them. This guy was great. This story is BAD.
— Chuck Mycoff (@cmycoff2) July 23, 2018
After he handed the ball to his wife in the video, she took a photo of it and passed it to another young fan sitting on her right.
The testimony was backed up by Jeff Rose, another spectator who had been sitting close to the man.
So all-in-all, there was no bad guy in this story – just a lot of kind men encouraging a kid’s love of the game.
Score Big With Your Friends And Share The Sweet Story With Your Friends – Photo by Chicago Cubs
Wow! talk about what the vid LOOKED like–