An adult male Cleveland Guardians who took a home run ball from a young girl during Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays returned it at the end of the game, the girl’s mom, Nikki DeVore, shared in a Facebook post.
The adult fan, who is said to be Max Quinn, has since deleted his social media, according to BroBible.
“Dude gave the home run ball back to her last inning,” DeVore wrote, including a smiling photo of her daughter with the home run ball in her glove at Progressive Field.
The male fan dropped the home run ball — which was hit to right field by the Guardians’ Daniel Schneemann in the bottom of the fifth inning — and it bounced near the girl, who was chasing it in the stands.
He ran over to her and ripped it out of her hands.
“Cleveland Mom Here,” DeVore wrote in a separate post on the Tampa Bay Rays Fan Club Facebook page. “You all watched the man steal the ball from my daughter. You know my son went to ask him for the ball, which was so brave. I just have to say thank you to Tampa for broadcasting it, when the Cleveland broadcast cut to puppies rather than show the man stealing the ball from a child.
“I cannot thank [Rays reporter] Ryan [Bass] and Tampa enough for making things right. Thank you all for looking out for ALL young baseball fans. It is top notch sportsmanship. My daughter and I cried happy tears. I am so proud of my kids for how they handled tonight, and so proud of Tampa and its fans for standing up for my child.
“The pressure resulted in the man giving her the home run ball back 4-5 innings later towards the end of the game. It wasn’t the same, but we appreciated him doing the right thing… I may be Ohio Grown and forever Cleveland (Jose!!!!) but I will be a Tampa fan on principle alone.”
Rays reporter Ryan Bass delivered baseballs to the little girl and her brother after the Tampa Bay broadcasters were stunned over the moment, which was captured on the live broadcast.
Bass reshared DeVore’s message in a post on X.
“Love y’all. Appreciate all of the sincere messages and notes,” Bass wrote. “We got the chance to make a sweet little girl’s night. There’s nothing better.
“Kindness is free. Always remember that. See y’all on Rays TV at 6:00 tomorrow.”
The male fan apparently shared a photo of the home run ball and explained that he gave the ball back to the girl in a before deleting his account.
“The part you didn’t see, was me giving the ball to the little girl,” he allegedly wrote. “Just because I got the ball doesn’t mean I ended up with the ball.”
The Rays went on to win the game 3-2.
