The Chicago Cubs helped make a young fan's day after the boy was robbed of a souvenir by an older fan.
During the fourth inning of the Cubs' games against St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Sunday, first base coach Will Venable tried to toss a souvenir ball to a boy in the first row. However, the boy dropped the ball and it rolled under his seat.
A middle-aged man behind the boy grabbed the ball and handed it to the woman sitting next to him. With the game televised nationally, Twitter quickly shared its disappointment with the older fan for not giving the ball to the young boy.
When going to a baseball game, DON'T be this guy. pic.twitter.com/pAeiRN6Q2X
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 22, 2018
— Mr. Thorn aka Fedro (@DemitriusThorn) July 22, 2018
Don’t be that guy, his spouse, or any of the other surrounding on-lookers who witness the whole thing and do nothing
— Amer Hussain (@amer_ahussain) July 23, 2018
Dude 🙄 OMG. Give the kid the ball
— Lisa Burns (@Burnsy9L) July 22, 2018
Luckily, the young fan didn't go home empty-handed. He ended up with a ball, along with an extra ball signed by star second baseman Javier Báez.
A @javy23baez signed ball should take care of it. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/4YzUlG8qfN
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 22, 2018
That didn't stop baseball fans from continuing to lambast the older fan. But according to David Kaplan, a Chicago sports talk radio and TV host, the older fan may not be the villain he was made out to be.
"The man who grabbed the ball on the widely seen video had actually already helped the little boy get a ball earlier," Kaplan tweeted. "The young man has a game used ball and a Javy Baez ball. All is well. Guy is A-OK so let it go people."
I spoke with people from the Cubs. The man who grabbed the ball on the widely seen video had actually already helped the little boy get a ball earlier. The young man has a game used ball and a Javy Baez ball. All is well. Guy is A-OK so let it go people.
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) July 23, 2018
No matter what happened in the stands, Cubs fans still went home happy — they beat their arch-rivals 7-2.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
