Thursday night, an adult man wearing a Juan Soto jersey intercepted a baseball tossed to a young child by an outfielder during a Washington Nationals game.
Avery Hilliard, a 10-year-old youth softball player, came to the weeknight game with her glove, eager to catch a ball. However, as player Joey Meneses lobbed the ball into the stands where Hilliard and her teammates were flailing their arms, an adult man hurriedly snatched the ball from the children and turned away.
“Suddenly [the man] rises up and grabs the ball.” Avery’s mother, Gina Hilliard, told DailyMail.com, “He showed no remorse, and his girlfriend was simply sitting there laughing.”
Gina was filming her daughter as she stood in the front row of spectators when Meneses threw the ball that was obviously intended for the children.
Avery gripped her softball mitt high as Meneses threw a baseball in her direction. One teammate eagerly yells, “Catch it, catch it!”
Within a blink of an eye, an anonymous man wearing a Soto jersey appears from behind the camera and intercepts the ball that was inches from falling in Avery’s glove.
In the footage, a female can be heard exclaiming incredulously, “What?!,” as Avery turns around in dismay.
The anonymous man moved away from the young baseball fans without establishing eye contact.
Gina tweeted a video of the bizarre exchange with the caption, ‘Grown man grabs baseball from young daughter.’ Since then, it has had approximately 4.5 million views.
Avery Hilliard (third from left) signaled to baseball star Joey Meneses to throw her a ball during Thursday night’s Washington Nationals game.
Avery (9th from the left) recognized the ball coming her way and prepared herself immediately while her teammates cheered her on.
Meneses threw the ball at the girl, but an unidentified man immediately intercepted it (far left)
Avery attended the game with her softball league, and her team was stunned by what had occurred. According to Avery’s mother, who filmed the incident, the man in the Soto jersey strolled away without guilt while his girlfriend laughed at his interception.
Gina Hilliard, Avery’s mother, uploaded the video on Twitter, where it has received nearly 4.5 million views.
Thursday was Washington Nationals Youth Champion Day, and the Shenandoah Rec Softball League Babe Ruth 10 and under team was invited to the game. When the sad situation occurred, the squad was being honored for their efforts in winning the state championship and enjoying the game.
Gina stated in an interview with DailyMail.com that the softball league had a fantastic day at the ballpark and were honored in center field.
The group replied, “Hey Gina! Please follow us and we’ll give you a direct message!
Before returning to their seats, the girls took pictures with one another and the team mascot.
Meneses, a baseball star, is notorious for throwing warm-up balls into the crowd and throughout the game. Avery and her friends eagerly approached the baseball fence at the end of the game in an attempt to coax a ball from Meneses.
Gina stated, “It was the last opportunity before we departed.”
After returning to his seat, the man was accosted by a team parent. The ball thief allegedly told the father, “I purchased a ticket to the game and have equal claim to the ball.”
Gina was overwhelmed with rage and was forced to leave.
Gina is satisfied that the Washington Nationals reached out to her in an effort to rectify the problem, despite the one unfortunate incident that marred an otherwise fantastic day.
While the squad has pledged to send a gift to Avery, she hopes that the entire team will also receive something, especially because the ball was meant for everyone.
The Washington Nationals have not responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Thursday’s game was Washington Nationals Youth Champion Day, and the Shenandoah Rec Softball League (Avery, far left) was invited to attend. At the game, the girls attempted to catch a ball thrown by a baseball star.
Gina reported that the baseball team apologized and reached out to her. To make amends for the ordeal, they will send her daughter an unidentified token.
Some social media users were outraged and demanded to know the man’s identify.
Can someone kindly identify this individual so that he is blacklisted everywhere, all the time, for the rest of his life?
Someone else remarked, “He was tossing it deliberately AT her!”
Others suspected the man had previously stolen balls and may have compared him to a renowned ball thief from other stadiums.
“This guy consistently does this, and now a teen calls him out HARD on it.” Much pointing and shaming, but he flees to steal more balls,’ wrote one person.
Several social media users demanded that the man be named.
Similarly, at a Royals baseball game at Padres Stadium in San Diego, Juan Soto’s courtesy ball was taken from the teenaged Bruce Williams.
The man later identified as Mark Kirsch raced for the ball in the same direction as the adolescent, into the bleachers.
Williams told Sports Illustrated, “I saw it coming at me, so I quickly put my glove on and stood up in my seat.”
‘Like it was right at me. Then, without warning, someone simply ran over me. I lunged over him and snatched the ball out of the air as he bumped into me and shoved me to the side while attempting to get the ball.
After the ball fell in Kirsch’s glove, he pulled it away from the teenager. Instead of returning the shirt, he attempted to exchange Royal shirts with the teenager.
He exited the stadium quickly.
In a similar incident at a Royals baseball game last month, an adult snatched a baseball from a man’s grasp.
The man, identified as Mark Kirsch, refused to return the ball and fled.