A young girl at a Washington Nationals game tried to catch a ball thrown to her, but had it snatched by a grown man.
The incident has people up in arms over the theft.
The video was shared by Gina Hilliard, showing her daughter and her softball team excited to catch a ball thrown to them.
But that excitement is dashed when a man in a Juan Soto jersey steps in and uses his height to intercept the ball.
\u201cGrown man steals baseball from little girl. \n\n@Nationals can you get Joey Meneses to sign a baseball and send it to my daughter? \u26be\ufe0f\u201d— Gina Hilliard (@Gina Hilliard) 1662083213
The incident happened during Youth Champions Day.
The Shenandoah Rec League 10U softball team was invited by the Nationals as part of the celebration.
At one point, right fielder, Joey Meneses threw the ball into the stands, seemingly for the young girl and teammates. But a grown man in a gray jersey steps in and puts his glove in front of the kids to catch the ball.
The children are visibly upset at the theft of the ball.
\u201c@JomboyMedia I just don\u2019t get why it\u2019s hard to turn to kids and hand them a ball\u2026 regardless of who catches it\u2026. Make a kids day \u201cshould\u201d provide more gratitude then taking a ball home to show your dad because you still live in the basement\u201d— Jomboy Media (@Jomboy Media) 1662493791
\u201cThe dudes that do this to kids... should be banned from ball parks. Someone should have beaten his ass.\u201d— \ud835\ude45\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude5b\ud835\ude5b\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude6e \ud835\ude4a'\ud835\ude3d\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude5e\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude63 (@\ud835\ude45\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude5b\ud835\ude5b\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude6e \ud835\ude4a'\ud835\ude3d\ud835\ude67\ud835\ude5e\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude63) 1662577074
\u201c@cubslifer @JomboyMedia Yes, it really is that simple.\u201d— Jomboy Media (@Jomboy Media) 1662493791
\u201c@harringtoncir_ @JomboyMedia Maybe he needed to sell the ball to buy "heart medicine" for his fragile aunt.\nMaybe, it wasn't a ball but a radioactive isotope and he was saving their lives.\nMaybe he was being mind-controlled by Soros.\n\nI guess we'll never know if he is a complete prick.\u201d— Jomboy Media (@Jomboy Media) 1662493791
\u201c@wreddpepper @GinaHilliard33 @Nationals I'm hoping the people he went with are as disgusted with him as the rest of us are.\u201d— Gina Hilliard (@Gina Hilliard) 1662083213
\u201cYa know I try to be positive about people and not get on people for enjoying their lives but I just can't get onboard with being an adult and a baseball from another adult is more meaningful to you than making a kids night. Just can't wrap my head around that one.\u201d— Pat Light (@Pat Light) 1662553816
The video was shared by Hilliard last week, but resurfaced after it was re-shared by Jomboy Media.
It’s added to the discourse surrounding adults taking balls from children at these baseball games. Some past incidents are being compared to this one.
Just last month, another incident was caught on video of a man stealing a home run ball directly out of another teen’s glove on his 18th birthday.
In both incidents, the team involved responds to the controversy well.
Hilliard said the Nationals reached out and are sending gifts to her daughter.
\u201c@Nationals Thank you @Nationals for reaching out and apologizing to hear that our experience that night was negatively impacted. They are sending something our way and hope that this can serve as a symbol of a good experience at the park rather than a bad one! \u2764\ufe0f\u26be\ufe0f\u201d— Gina Hilliard (@Gina Hilliard) 1662083213
That said, it still hasn’t stopped people from arguing about the situation.
\u201c@xTheSurgeonx @GinaHilliard33 @Nationals You get it. Thank you. Thought I was alone in rational thought on this event.\u201d— Gina Hilliard (@Gina Hilliard) 1662083213
\u201c@Hoodiano7 @JomboyMedia He could\u2019ve gave her the ball tho \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Jomboy Media (@Jomboy Media) 1662493791
\u201c@PowerBoater69 @GinaHilliard33 @Nationals No. They are a team. She had the glove.\u201d— Gina Hilliard (@Gina Hilliard) 1662083213
\u201c@Hebz80_3 @JomboyMedia ...and that's a problem? her kid was heartbroken and she made an extremely simple request to cheer her up...\u201d— Jomboy Media (@Jomboy Media) 1662493791
\u201c@biggdon08 @GinaHilliard33 @Nationals Ok Bigg Don. Takes a truly shitty person to defend another truly shitty person. GFY\u201d— Gina Hilliard (@Gina Hilliard) 1662083213
The man who stole the ball from the young softball team hasn’t been identified, but there have been calls to ban him nonetheless.
Where that will lead, we can only wait and see.
