A young Philadelphia Phillies fan met Harrison Bader after an apparent dispute with another spectator over a home run ball at the Sept. 5 game against the Miami Marlins.
At the top of the fourth inning, Bader hit a solo home run to left field to increase the Phillies’ lead to 5-1 over the Marlins. Philadelphia would go on to defeat Miami 9-3.
After fans scrambled to snatch the ball in the stands, cameras captured what appeared to be a heated argument over who was the ball’s rightful owner.
When a man in Phillies merch grabbed the ball, he gave it to a young boy who viewers suspected was his son. Moments later, another nearby spectator, a woman also wearing Phillies gear, confronted him in what seemed to be a tense exchange.
In the end, the man who originally retrieved the ball gave it up to the woman.
The Phillies appeared to take notice of the incident, which quickly went viral on social media.
‘Going home with a signed bat from Bader,’ the team wrote on X, alongside photos of the young fan meeting the center fielder.
The Marlins also apparently stepped in afterwards and gave the boy a bag of gifts, a video posted on X by another spectator showed.
Social media defends boy after Phillies home run ball incident
On X, several videos of the incident each garnered millions of views as many users praised Bader and the Phillies for the postgame meeting.
‘Class act by Harrison Bader, turning a tough moment into an unforgettable memory for that young Phillies fan with a signed bat!’ one person wrote.
Another said, ‘Glad to see this situation be made right.’
Others commended the man for effectively diffusing the situation by giving the woman the ball.
‘People are gonna hate on the dad for giving it up, but teaching your kids not to argue over trivial things with crazies is probably the better life lesson,’ one user said.
Someone else agreed, ‘True, not every hill is worth dying on. Teaching kids to value peace over petty conflict might be the bigger win here.’
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
