An adult Cleveland Guardians fan went viral on Monday, April 27, for wrestling a home run ball away from a young fan in the stands at Progressive Field.
The TV broadcast caught the whole incident, which occurred in the fifth inning of the Guardians’ 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. It unfolded when Cleveland’s Daniel Schneemann deposited a two-run home run just over the left field fence.
The fan in question appeared to bobble the ball before it carromed to a young girl who was about to grab it when the fan got on the ground and took it away from her. The broadcast showed the man walking away, holding the ball up in celebration as the dejected girl returned to her seat.
“No! He’s not gonna steal that,” Rays play-by-play man Andy Freed said on the air while color analyst Brian Anderson added, “Yeah, that can’t happen.”
Fortunately for her, Tampa Bay on-field reporter Ryan Bass came to the rescue, bringing another ball to the girl’s seat in a moment captured on the broadcast.
“Just exercising all of that bonus girl dad energy,” Bass later wrote via X, where he shared a clip of the moment.
He later added, “Baseball is the best! What a sweet little family,” alongside a selfie he took with them.
Bass also said he saw the girl’s brother go up to the man who took the ball and ask for it back, but to no avail. The kids’ mom, Nikki DeVoe, confirmed that in a post via Facebook.
“You know my son went to ask him for the ball, which was so brave,” she wrote.
Devoe also expressed her gratitude for Bass and the Rays’ broadcast team.
“I just have to say thank you to Tampa for broadcasting it, when Cleveland broadcast cut to puppies rather than show the man stealing the ball from a child,” she wrote. “I cannot thank Ryan and Tampa enough for making things right. Thank you all for looking out for ALL young baseball fans. It is top notch sportsmanship. My daughter and I cried happy tears. I am so proud of my kids for how they handled tonight, and so proud of Tampa and its fans for standing up for my child.”
She added, “The pressure resulted in the man giving her the home run ball back 4-5 innings later towards the end of the game. It wasn’t the same but we appreciated him doing the right thing. But we appreciate all of you even more.”
