An Ohio man caught on camerastealing a home run ball from an 11-year-old girl is now apologizing after taking a lot of hits on social media for his actions.
During Monday’s game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa
Bay Rays, Max Quinn attempted to retrieve a home run ball hit by Guardians’ center fielder Daniel Schneemann, only to drop it during recovery.
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Although 11-year-old Evelyn Moore snatched the ball after Quinn’s drop, he grabbed it out of her hand and walked back to his seat.
The broadcasters noticed Quinn’s actions and weren’t happy.
“Noooo, he’s not gonna steal that? And then he was proud of it … Give that ball back. C’mon,” the announcers can be heard saying in the video below.
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Tampa Bay Rays sideline reporter Ryan Bass tried to make up for the faux pas by delivering balls to the little girl and her brother.
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The kids’ mother, Nikki Moore-DeVore, praised the Rays for their kindness on Facebook. Quinn, however, reportedly received anonymous threats, while his collectibles business, Uncover Vintage, got bombed with 1-star reviews on Google.
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“It’s been a rough 24 hours; 36 hours,” Quinn told Cleveland Fox affiliate WJW on Wednesday.
He added, “I’ve also learned that the internet is a really mean and scary place. A lot of people have said a lot of really mean things.”
Still, he admitted that he “made a lot of mistakes” at the game and said he’s “utterly sorry for everything that’s transpired. … It was a heat-of-the-moment thing. I made a bad decision; a lot of bad decisions. I’m paying for it online.”
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Quinn claimed that in the moment, he only noticed a baseball glove, but “didn’t know it was a little girl” who was wearing it.
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He confessed that refusing to give back the ball, even after Evelyn’s younger brother asked him, was “a big mistake.”
Quinn added:
“I went back to my seat, and I heard it from the fans and the people. … I was sitting there, and I’m like, ‘I won’t be able to 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 over this,” and added, “Jokes and memes are one thing, but it’s getting excessive. It’s too much.”
Meanwhile, Quinn’s WJW interview featured a video message from Evelyn forgiving him for the incident.
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“Hi Max, thanks for giving us the ball back. We forgive you for it,” Evelyn said. “We know the internet has been going wild over this. We hope they forgive you.”
Quinn told the station that he’s trying to use the incident for personal improvement.
“I’m just trying to do good by myself and my business,” Quinn said. “I hope that people in the city and people here in Cleveland and Guardians fans and everybody can forgive me, give me a second chance. … That’s all I can ask for.”
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