In the midst of one of the most insane baseball games ever played, something quite amazing was lost in the shuffle. As Yasiel Puig hit a ninth-inning homer to get the Dodgers down only one, a fan in the Crawford boxes was holding the ball over his head triumphantly. Not many people can say they’ve caught a home run ball during the World Series, and this fan was now able to. Except, he couldn’t do so for long.
Buddy’s wife caught a World Series home run ball and his friend STOLE IT AND THREW IT BACK! pic.twitter.com/Maaq8zj8Ia
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 30, 2017
Seems quite rude to do, even in the midst of a critical game in the World Series your team is now less certain of winning. What would possess someone to do such a thing, even considering the situation?
Let’s consider this man’s determination first and foremost: look at his face after he took the ball away. He waited for one second or so before throwing it back on the field to perhaps briefly reconsider what he’s doing, but then suddenly channeled Braveheart as he’s about to lead his men to battle. This man will do anything to respect his team by throwing back a home run ball hit by the enemy, everyone else be damned.
(MLB on FOX screenshots courtesy CBS Sports)
Have you ever seen a man more determined to do anything in his life than this guy is right now? The guy who caught the home run ball could offer to pay off his mortgage and it wouldn’t change what he’s about to do. He just doesn’t care. Amazingly, the couple who had the ball for all of 10 seconds seems more shocked at what happened than angry, as you probably would be when every single emotion in the spectrum just crossed your mind in a nanosecond.
We suspect even the best actors might have trouble accurately portraying the emotions in that six-second clip appropriately. I mean, how could you? The joy, anger, frustration, and determination of three people over the future of one of many baseballs not just in Minute Maid Park, but across the globe is truly something to behold.
These fans will have quite the story to tell in 20 years: not just that they were at one of the most insane World Series games ever, but that they had a home run ball stolen from them too.
