30 Jul Viral Video Of Grown Man “Stealing” Foul Baseball From Young Boy Is Not What It Seems

In a world of media manipulations, it seems a viral story can be made out of just about anything. It’s always best to find out all of the facts before simply believing the first thing someone says.

Case in point, this video from a Chicago Cubs game that recently went viral for all the wrong reasons:

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Sports outlet Cut 4 first published the video to Twitter, which appears to show a foul ball fly into the stands and roll under the seats of a young boy. A man behind the boy then snatches it away and hands it to his wife, leaving the boy with nothing.

Twitter users quickly took to the internet to shame the ball-snatching man, but the situation wasn’t quite what it looked like. Had the video continued to play, viewers would have observed the entire situation, which would reveal that the man was actually doing a good deed rather than a bad one.

As it would turn out, the man had been catching foul balls throughout the game and handing them off to young fans in the stands around him. He had already given the boy in the video a ball earlier in the game and decided to give the ball in question to the young fan sitting next to his wife who had yet to receive one.

The man’s wife only held onto the ball long enough to snap a quick photo of it before handing it off to another youngster. However, because the video appeared to show the man stealing a ball from the boy sitting in front of him, that boy was actually awarded another ball later in the game.

That’s right, the young boy in the video actually went home with two balls that day. What’s even more heartwarming is that the Chicago Cubs’s infielder, Javier Baez, actually autographed the second ball for the little man. How amazing is that?

The boy was all smiles in photos shared to the Chicago Cubs official Twitter account with the caption, “A @javy23baez signed ball should take care of it. #EverybodyIn”.

As news spread, the misunderstanding was also cleared up on Twitter with many users clarifying that the man who appeared to be stealing a ball had actually been doing kind deeds. Credit needs to be given where credit is due, after all.

One Twitter user who happened to witness the situation himself was Chuck Mycoff who took to the social media platform to set the story straight. He wrote: “I was sitting next to this guy. That ball was between my feet. The kid already had a ball the same guy helped him get. He handed it to his wife. She took a picture of it and they gave it to the kid next to them. This guy was great. This story is BAD.”

Jeff Rose also posted to Twitter to explain the situation. The man who took the ball had been “getting called every name in the book” and he wanted to ensure everyone knew exactly what had happened, considering that the online bullying he was subjected to was completely uncalled for.

He explained that the boy had already been given a ball two innings previously and that the man was able to catch two other balls for young fans who had not yet received one. Despite the boy perhaps being disappointed that he didn’t nab the ball in the video, I think that we can all agree that personally receiving an autographed ball by a Cubs team member is way cooler.

But please remember, if you’re at a sports game and a ball lands near a young fan, let them have it. The ball probably means a lot more to them than it ever would to you.

If you happen to be the one who has caught it, then perhaps take a picture for your Instagram account or Facebook profile, but then pass it on to a youngster nearby. It just might become one of their most prized possessions.

So at the end of the day, there was no bad guy, only some really great displays of good sportsmanship and encouragement for a few youngsters who clearly love the game of baseball. It just goes to show that there are always two sides to every story. The truth is never one-sided.

Perhaps it would be wise to learn that lesson from this story. So the next time you see or hear someone stating something as the truth without actually providing all of the facts assume there is more to the story.

However, it’s best to apply that kind of scrutiny to all situations. There’s no need to villainize those who don’t deserve it or similarly be villainized by those who could be trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Luckily, this story turned out to be a good one with a lot of people showing real character and heart. We need more good people in the world. Kudos to the man in the video who was just trying to make those around him happy.

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