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FORT WORTH, Texas -- The mother of a boy who was nearly knocked over when a man leaped for a foul ball says she was shocked that the man didn't give her son the ball.
The incident happened in the third inning of Sunday's Texas Rangers game against the St. Louis Cardinals when Gary Matthews Jr. lifted a foul ball into the stands at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas.
A man went tumbling to get the baseball and nearly knocked over 4-year-old Nicholas O'Brien. The boy's mother, Eddie O'Brien, was not happy about it as she whacked the man with her program before he managed to escape back to his seat. Texas Rangers broadcaster Tom Grieve was also not impressed.
Foul Ball Frustrations Did you feel the same frustration as sportscaster Tom Grieve at the man who kept a foul ball after nearly knocking down a boy? Thank you for taking our survey! Yes, I felt it was wrong that the man kept the ball No, I was fine with the man keeping the ball I didn't care either way "Yeah, you got the ball, buddy. Nice going, you took it away from a little kid. Hold it up, you should be real proud of yourself," Grieve said during the televised broadcast. "Go to a sporting goods store and buy a dozen baseballs if you want them that bad."
"You know, there is a jerk in every park, and there is the biggest jerk in this park," Grieve said while the camera was focused on the man.
Little Nicholas proved to come out the winner in the end, as other kids gave him baseballs. Even better, the Cardinals' Reggie Sanders, who was watching the game in the clubhouse, came out and gave the boy a baseball and a bat.
The Texas Rangers also gave the boy a shirt, cap, tickets, a signed Nolan Ryan baseball, and an autographed Kevin Mench bat.
"I was just shocked that this man had jumped over all of us just for a ball, and he wouldn't move. He was determined to keep the ball, and he didn't seem to care who he hit. I was just amazed at the crowd -- their support, to be honest, it was amazing," the boy's mother said.
"The ball had come down ... and it landed at [Eddie's] feet. He was laying crossways in the aisle on the ground, and he had the bottom half of the ball, and I had the top half ... and I realized that the longer I wrestled with it, the longer he was going to be [there]," the boy's father, Jeff O'Brien, said.
Other fans were chanting for the man to "give [the boy] the ball"... The man kept the ball all to himself and reportedly left the game after the fourth inning.
The incident happened in the third inning of Sunday's Texas Rangers game against the St. Louis Cardinals when Gary Matthews Jr. lifted a foul ball into the stands at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas.
A man went tumbling to get the baseball and nearly knocked over 4-year-old Nicholas O'Brien. The boy's mother, Eddie O'Brien, was not happy about it as she whacked the man with her program before he managed to escape back to his seat. Texas Rangers broadcaster Tom Grieve was also not impressed.
Foul Ball Frustrations Did you feel the same frustration as sportscaster Tom Grieve at the man who kept a foul ball after nearly knocking down a boy? Thank you for taking our survey! Yes, I felt it was wrong that the man kept the ball No, I was fine with the man keeping the ball I didn't care either way "Yeah, you got the ball, buddy. Nice going, you took it away from a little kid. Hold it up, you should be real proud of yourself," Grieve said during the televised broadcast. "Go to a sporting goods store and buy a dozen baseballs if you want them that bad."
"You know, there is a jerk in every park, and there is the biggest jerk in this park," Grieve said while the camera was focused on the man.
Little Nicholas proved to come out the winner in the end, as other kids gave him baseballs. Even better, the Cardinals' Reggie Sanders, who was watching the game in the clubhouse, came out and gave the boy a baseball and a bat.
The Texas Rangers also gave the boy a shirt, cap, tickets, a signed Nolan Ryan baseball, and an autographed Kevin Mench bat.
"I was just shocked that this man had jumped over all of us just for a ball, and he wouldn't move. He was determined to keep the ball, and he didn't seem to care who he hit. I was just amazed at the crowd -- their support, to be honest, it was amazing," the boy's mother said.
"The ball had come down ... and it landed at [Eddie's] feet. He was laying crossways in the aisle on the ground, and he had the bottom half of the ball, and I had the top half ... and I realized that the longer I wrestled with it, the longer he was going to be [there]," the boy's father, Jeff O'Brien, said.
Other fans were chanting for the man to "give [the boy] the ball"... The man kept the ball all to himself and reportedly left the game after the fourth inning.
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