OutKick Readers Were Furious Over 'Snagged MLB Baseball' Story: Right or Wrong?

OutKick readers came out swinging after our story about a kid, his butter-fingered dad and my shiny, new MLB baseball.

Over the weekend, I decided to soak up some sun at a Los Angeles Angels game, where I snagged a ball tossed by the right fielder, right after a dad flubbed not one, but two chances to catch it for his son.

I kept the baseball… sue me! (Credit: OutKick)

READ: Why I Kept the Baseball: Fate, Reflexes and a Kid’s Fumble-Filled Night 

My choice to keep the baseball, rather than pulling a Mean Joe Greene and tossing it to the kid with some life-changing advice, ruffled plenty of feathers.

When we opened the floor to our readers, by God, they did not hold back.

OutKick Readers Respond To Baseball Snag At Angel Stadium

Now, some of you are still scratching your heads, wondering why I didn’t hand over the ball ... handing out freebies doesn’t vibe with my capitalist soul. Or, I simply lucked out with the klutz dad missing a second catch, so I caught it and kept it. 

The game carried on, no issue.

Credit: GIPHY

So, I kept the baseball. Sue me.

Since I'm devoted to the OutKIck readers, we let you guys comment. 

From being called human garbage to actually finding middle ground with a few folks, the reactions to this ball snag were all over the place.

We’re diving into the best reader takes from our mailbag. (It's not too late to chime in: thedailyoutkick@outkick.com or alejandro.avila@outkick.com)

Buckle up for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly comments from OutKick readers, reacting to the great baseball controversy of 2025.

We asked: Was I in the wrong, right, or fair for keeping the baseball, rather than handing it off to the clumsy father's son? 

We included names of those who chimed in where we could. Without further delay….

The Good, Decent, Fair Responses

- Beth was kind: How many times does an adult give a ball to a kid who throws it back on the field? Like all true conservatives, I believe you should earn it. You catch or retrieve a ball, it’s your call what you do with it. I will not be guilted into giving a ball to a kid.

- RV was short and sweet: I say keep it!

- Russell in Kansas said: Baseball, as all sports (should), brings out the kid in all of us.  And every "kid" I have ever known, wants to leave the sporting contest with a piece of the game-aka-the ball.  In no way should one feel the need to give the ball to a minor, unless they have an epiphany to gift the ball to someone else.

- This story intrigued me as I am one of those proponents of giving the baseball to the nearest kid. But you made a *great* point in that you are not responsible for the dad’s lack of hand-eye coordination, especially after two tries. It took a certain amount of chutzpah to keep the ball you obtained, while feeling the glares around you. This story made me laugh ... 

Credit: GIPHY

- Alvin got nostalgic: Back in the late eighties, before my son was born, I went to a PIRATES game at the old Three Rivers Stadium, between the BUCS and the San Diego Padres. 

I had very good seats down the 3rd base line, three rows back, just past the bag. Jack Clark was at the plate and fouled one off down the line that bounced off the warning track into the stands directly into my hands. After shaking off the sting, I looked the ball over and was about to put it into my backpack when I had a second thought. 

Seated next to me was a young boy, about 10 years old or something like that, with his mom. I thought, what the hell, and said, here you go buddy and handed him the ball. The look on his shining face was worth a million baseballs. That simple gesture made the kid’s day and mine and the image still stays fresh in my memory to this day.

- Elcheato1 reminisced about Roger Maris: Give the little tyke the ball -- unless his father was an a**hole or the kid was a total brat and was brandishing a $500 glove. 

Otherwise give the kid the ball. I was once sitting in the bleachers and grandstands at Tiger Stadium as a kid, just waiting for a ball, HR or foul ball. 

Once as a kid, sitting in the right field lower deck grandstands, Tigers vs Yankees, we watched NY batting practice. The fans were not friendly to the Yankees, but Roger Maris, picked up a penny that was thrown at him & walked up to the fence & slid it under it and gave it to my friend --he said something like -- here you go kid --- --- after the game we waited out side the clubhouse for Maris to come out. He got his autograph and had his father mount the penny and the autograph in plaster.  

So maybe some kids still idolize some players & are at the game for the love of baseball.

- Jeffrey kept it simple: Man, give the kid the ball! 

- Doug was reasonable: Normally I would agree with you, a foul ball is fair game, the person who gets it gets to decide what to do with it. However … the player was trying to give the kid a ball, yes clearly his dad wasn't a varsity athlete but in this scenario, the right thing is to give the kid the ball.

- Gordon said: Give the ball to the kid! If you need a ball, go buy one.

- Frank in Nevada broke the issue down like game film: Here's may take on Timmy and the ball....

First, you're at a major league stadium -- not minor league, so the ball is really keep worthy.  That's a given.  Never been a fan of "ooh, the opponent hit a home run let's throw the ball back."

Second, it depends on Timmy.  Is Timmy in a wheel chair?  Is Timmy special needs?   Is Timmy in leg braces like Forrest Gump?  If so, give Timmy the ball, cuz the kid can't move to get it on his own, or if he can he might be really slow and wouldn't have a chance otherwise.

Is Timmy able to get around, run around the steps, dive over chairs, or (and this is rare at a game in my experience) generally annoy the shit outta you?

If so, Timmy is probably more capable of getting a ball than I am.  My chair diving days are long over -- no Jeter into the stands to get a black eye while Nomar sits on his ass and pouts in the dugout for me.

So in that case, no, Timmy does not get the ball.  

It's really that simple.

The Pissed Off OutKick Readers (Bad & Ugly)

- Vernon was not pleased: As you can likely tell by my Quote fingers, NO that guy is a dumba**. He saw the kid's dad ask for and fumbled the ball. The right thing to do would have been to see that the boy got the ball. If you want to catch a ball do it the right way. This butt essentially stole the kid's ball. 

Avila has too much money, drinks too much beer and eats too many nachos. He should stay home and watch on TV until he develops some baseball etiquette.

Credit: GIPHY

- Sandro leaned into what appears to be his favorite term: Can I assume the scumbag does not have children? [Correct!] ... He should repent his scumbaggery [noun] and find a kid from his section at the game and send the ball to him with an apology for being selfish.

- Robert was awfully critical: That nimrod that caught the ball probably never caught anything in his life except his wife who is probably the nicest lady in there [sic] city. Project on there [sic] family and hope for a long and happy marriage.

- Dang right is wrong to keep it.  The baseball gods are looking down their noses at you contemplating how they gonna [sic] get even.

- Luke didn't hold back: That guy is an a**hole. The ball was meant for the kid. Grow up, Peter Pan.

- James said: If the ball had been a homer he caught, then by all means, their [sic] should be no guilt. But, snagging a ball MEANT for the kid, is a bit bullish. Have to be a bit mentally different, to spend the rest of the game, with the kid sitting right in front of you, and have no guilt.

- Respectfully, your decision to keep the baseball seems very selfish. Especially because it's not like it was a home run ball or even a foul ball that you caught yourself- that would be cool & noteworthy- but a ball that was being casually tossed by a player to a specific fan (with his kids with him!) who happened to drop it. Wow, great for you, what a story to tell! 

A guy dropped a tossed ball & you snatched it up, as his kid looked back at you holding the ball that would have probably made his night. Good for you. If you were giving it to one of your own kids, that would be one thing, but it doesn't sound like that's the case (you may not have kids, not sure). It honestly just sounds like you're a selfish [no] millennial [yes] who only thinks about yourself & your own gratification. I'm sure that's not really the truth about who you are, but your actions in this specific situation sure fall in that category. Moving forward, grow up, do better, and think about others- especially kids- instead of yourself. [This guy and I ultimately agreed] 

- You are a soy boy [Huh?] with your nacho helmet and gifted baseball, I’ve caught several foul balls one when I was about 8 which I gave away to my uncle who took me to game because he had never gotten one even though he’d been to hundreds of games sitting behind dugout in his 4 season tickets. Enjoy your baseball.

- I took a day to sleep on it: just to make sure I wasn’t missing the satire. I didn’t. You are a tool. 

What was your prize for being a grade A, prime jacka**? [the baseball]

Not a home run ball, or even a game used foul ball, it was a long toss warmup ball from a no name right fielder [that's rude] who was trying to give a kid a good memory. But hey, your Gen Z a** has faster reflexes and can catch a ball better than a mid 40s dad. Impressive!! 

Definitely something to brag about. When you grow up and find a significant other (no judgment here), you have a built-in compatibility question for the relationship. When they/them ask "where did you get the ball" and you reply "my reflexes allowed me to take a warmup ball meant for a little boy from his inept boomer dad," and they reply "awesome." You have found your soul mate! ... 

One of my earliest memories of life was attending a Dallas Tornado soccer match at Texas Stadium*. I don’t remember the match at all. 

I do remember after the match players were throwing little plastic soccer balls the size of softballs into the stands. One floated right into my chest. I held it up high, jumping up and down. 

The man behind me took it out of my hand. He should be just as proud of his strength as you are of your reflexes. 

I am not sure if your faith worships Jehovah, Jesus, Allah, or Ganesh and Shiva [oh, brother!], but I doubt any of them consider taking candy from a baby because of faster reflexes as a virtue. And let’s face it. You took it away from the kid — not the dad.

Thank you all for chiming in. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Credit: GIPHY

(Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela)