When this teen got a foul ball stolen right from his hands, the White Sox made it right.
While most people go to a baseball game just to enjoy the action, we all have that not-so-secret hope that we will get to go home with a foul ball to remember the day by.
On Monday, Aug. 21, it seemed to Ryan Baker that he would be one of the few lucky fans to get a coveted foul ball. The 15-year-old was at a White Sox game and just happened to be in the perfect spot to catch the foul heading his way.
Baker wasn’t the only one to go after the ball, with two others also in the mix. Since he grabbed it first, however, common courtesy dictates it was rightfully his – something everyone in the surrounding area agreed with, except for one woman.
This woman had decided that because the ball nearly hit her, it was rightfully hers.
Baker told WGN TV:
“She pries my fingers, takes the ball, and says it’s her ball because it almost hit her. I was in disbelief.”
In the video of the incident, you can see everyone in the area scrambling to get the foul ball, and Baker is the first to reach it. Even as he stands up with the ball in the hand, the woman in question reaches towards him, clearly pleading for the ball. Then, a second later, she just grabs it out of his hands.
This was such a surprising event that the announcer can’t help but exclaim: “Oh my!” This is followed by disbelieving laughter from his co-announcer. Baker reacts as expected, with his arms out in a shrug and a facial expression that seems to indicate he is wondering how this happened.
Although the woman did get away with stealing the ball from Baker, the entire interaction was broadcast on live TV. This means that baseball fans from all across the country saw her actions and agreed wholeheartedly that she was in the wrong.
Baker having the foul ball stolen from him also got the attention of the White Sox themselves.
That same day, Brooks Boyer, who is the senior vice president of marketing and sales of the White Sox, gave Baker a signed baseball to make up for the lost foul ball. The team’s efforts to ensure Baker forgot about the entire incident went even further than that. Boyer explained to WGN TV that:
“A young man had a ball taken from him. We just wanted to correct that wrong.”
The White Sox certainly did everything they could in that respect. They invited Baker back to their following game on Aug. 24, where he received the all-star treatment. On that day, Baker got to sit right behind home plate, meet the entire team, and hang out in the media booth. He also received a signed ball to replace the one wrongly stolen from him – and saw it signed in front of his eyes. According to WGN TV, another fan who had caught a foul ball that day also offered Baker that one to make up for the incident.
The best part of the entire series of events for Baker was probably meeting the players.
As you watch the video, you can see that not only did Baker handle the woman stealing his foul ball with class, he was incredibly grateful for all the gifts the White Sox gave him. He repeatedly says “Oh my god” as he is first offered tickets behind home plate and then told he’s welcome in the media booth.
This teen has definitely been raised right, displaying humility and grace throughout the entire experience.
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source: WQAD
