While a baseball ball is technically free for any fan to grab and take home once it enters the stands at a Major League Baseball game, one unwritten rule is that children take priority when it comes to getting a souvenir ball. But apparently, one man at a recent Washington Nationals game didn’t quite get the memo.
At one point during the Nationals’ 7-3 loss to the New York Mets, Washington right fielder Joey Meneses identified what appears to be a young girls’ softball team sitting along the first-base line. Palacios looked at the group and intentionally threw a baseball to a girl wearing a baseball mitt. Unfortunately, the ball never got to her.
Just as the girl is about to make the catch, a grown man – also with a baseball glove – walks over, sticks his arm in front of hers, snags the ball for himself, and then swiftly walks away.
Grown man steals baseball from little girl. @Nationals can you get Joey Meneses to sign a baseball and send it to my daughter? ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/itcQFseOQO
— Gina Hilliard (@GinaHilliard33) September 2, 2022
The group of girls immediately expressed their disappointment before the video got cut short.
Naturally, the MLB world did not react kindly to a grown man stealing a souvenir baseball from a little girl as plenty of people took to Twitter to blast the man.
This video is the perfect representation of men claiming to support equal pay.
— Reshma Gopaldas (@reshingbull) September 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/kheronalston/status/1567245553192370176?s=20&t=s0e0o36Kklg-Vw1bdfE42A
I was with my daughter's team at this game. Her team and this team were honored for their state tournament championships. These girls were really sweet and I think from Shenandoah. What is this dude doing. https://t.co/IgT9WKv0Zo
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) September 6, 2022
Grown-ups who do this are terrible human beings. Like, Marco Rubio-terrible. https://t.co/OXIiqQ8v8A
— Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) September 6, 2022
Of course this guy is in DC https://t.co/StKu9ra89T
— Nick Riccardi (@NickRiccardi) September 6, 2022
Obnoxious vid of the day! https://t.co/qnLndQiBNl
— John Aguilar (@abuvthefold) September 6, 2022
This is it. The worst one of all-time pic.twitter.com/b1w0ZjDh2N
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 6, 2022
However, it looks like this story could have a happy ending, after all as the Nationals did reach out to the girl’s mother on Twitter.
hey Gina! Mind giving us a follow and we'll send you a DM?
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) September 6, 2022
Still, somebody needs to teach the man not to steal things from little girls – a lesson that should probably just come naturally to most people.
