Curveball alert.
An angry Phillies fan sparked outrage after she was captured bullying a father into handing over a home run ball that he had given to his young son, who was celebrating his birthday.
The heated confrontation unfolded on camera as Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader launched a home run into the left field seats during Friday’s game against the Marlins at LoanDepot Park
At least six fans raced into an empty row of the blue seats to try and snatch the ball before the father, wearing a red Phillies t-shirt, sprinted to the area and secured the prized souvenir.
The dad then walked back to where his family was sitting, approximately five seats away, and handed the ball to his ecstatic son, identified by the Phillies as Lincoln.
But a gray-haired Phillies fan, who failed to grab the ball in front of her seat, was not going to let the moment slip through her fingers.
Seconds after the father gave his son the ball, the woman grabbed the startled father’s shoulder and berated him over to stake a claim to it.
“You took it from me. It was in my hand,” the woman claimed, according to fan-recorded footage.
The two fans exchanged some words as both pointed to where the ball was picked up.
After a few seconds of a verbal dispute, the father shockingly grabbed the ball from his son’s glove and handed it over to the woman, who furiously returned to her seat.
Lincoln, however, received support from the Phillies and Marlins following the unfortunate encounter.
A Marlins representative apologized and gifted the boy a prize pack, which consisted of various gifts, including baseballs for him and his sister, who was seated next to him during the game.
“We brought you a cool little goodie bag,” the representative told Lincoln as she handed him a plastic bag with lots of gifts inside, according to a video posted on X.
The crowd cheered as the representative continued to apologize to Lincoln.
After the game, Bader invited Lincoln to meet up, where he gifted the fan with a signed bat and the team revealed that it was the boy’s birthday on Friday.
“Going home with a signed bat from Bader,” the Phillies wrote on X, showing photos of Bader signing a bat for Lincoln.
The unexpected fan fight caused a flood of social media users to show support for Lincoln.
“Very well done! Shame on that fan for her arrogance and selfishness,” one fan wrote on social media. “The kid was happy with just getting a baseball and she had to make it all about herself and cause a scene. Glad the Phillies and Marlins stepped up and handled this with class.
“She still needs to give it back and apologize,” another fan demanded.
Others applauded both teams for going the extra mile to make Lincoln smile after the stunning situation on the sidelines.
“It is good [that] the baseball team worked out something to try to make the situation right.”
“Gonna make a Phillies (baseball) fan outta me,” another quipped.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
