An Ohio man caught on camera stealing a home run ball from an 11 year old girl is now apologizing after receiving many hits on social media for his actions.
During Monday’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and Tampa
Bay Rays Max Quinn tried to retrieve a home run ball hit by Guardians center fielder Daniel Schneemann, but dropped it during recovery.
Although 11-year-old Evelyn Moore took the ball after Quinn’s fall, he took it from her hand and walked back to his seat.
The broadcasters noticed Quinn’s actions and were not happy.
“Noooo, he’s not going to steal that? And then he was proud of it… Give that ball back. Come on,” the announcers can be heard saying in the video below.
Tampa Bay Rays sideline reporter Ryan Bass tried to make up for the mistake delivering balls to the little girl and her brother.
The children’s mother, Nikki Moore-DeVore, praised the Rays for their kindness on Facebook. However, Quinn reportedly received anonymous threats, while his collectibles company Uncover Vintage was bombarded with one-star reviews on Google.
“It was a tough 24 hours; 36 hours,” Quinn told Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW on Wednesday.
He added: “I also learned that the internet is a very mean and scary place. A lot of people have said a lot of mean things.”
Still, he admitted that he “made a lot of mistakes” during the game and said he “completely regrets everything that happened. … It was a snapshot. I made a bad decision; a lot of bad decisions. I’m paying for it online.”
Quinn claimed he only noticed a baseball glove at the time but “didn’t know it was a little girl” wearing it.
He admitted that refusing to give the ball back even after Evelyn’s younger brother asked him to do so was “a big mistake.”
“I went back to my seat and heard it from the fans and the people. I sat there and thought, ‘I can’t sleep at night if I don’t give this ball back.'”
Evelyn’s mother told the Los Angeles Times that Quinn’s “life shouldn’t be ruined by this,” adding, “Jokes and memes are one thing, but it’s being exaggerated. It’s too much.”
Meanwhile, Quinn’s WJW interview included a video message from Evelyn forgiving him for the incident.
“Hello Max, thank you for giving us the ball back. We forgive you for it,” said Evelyn. “We know the internet is going wild over this. We hope they forgive you.”
Quinn told the station that he is trying to use the incident for personal improvement.
“I’m just trying to do good for myself and my company,” Quinn said. “I hope that people in the city and people here in Cleveland and Guardians fans and everyone can forgive me, give me a second chance. … That’s all I can ask for.”
