Baseball fans dream of catching a foul ball. But imagine the agony of having that ball yanked out of your hand.
That’s what happened to a 15-year-old Chicago White Sox fan during the second inning of Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins..
Ryan Baker was sitting along the left field foul line when a foul ball hit by Minnesota catcher Jason Castro landed in an open row in the stands. He scrambled to get the ball as it landed in the seats, but when he emerged with it, a woman in the row in front of him took it away.
"She pries my fingers, takes the ball and says it's her ball because it almost hit her. I was in disbelief," Baker told WGN.
Baker’s “what the heck” expression garnered plenty of sympathy and support on social media and on Chicago’s sports talk shows, WGN reported.
Later in the game, White Sox vice president and chief marketing officer Brooks Boyer brought Baker a baseball signed by White Sox broadcasters Jason Benetti and Steve Stone, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
"A young man had a ball taken from him,” Boyer said. “We just wanted to correct that wrong.”
“To take a foul ball from a kid is probably not the greatest thing to do,” Benetti told WGN. “But she's a fan, too, and it just shows you how much everybody wants to have a foul ball.”
The White Sox took their kindness a step further by inviting Baker to Thursday's game as a special guest, the Chicago Tribune reported. Baker got to meet White Sox players on the field and spent time in the broadcast booth.
