Random adult steals Cody Bellinger-tossed ball from 10-year-old child
This past Saturday, while the Dodgers were in the midst of their seventh consecutive victory (this one taking place in Philadelphia), Cody Bellinger attempted to fulfill one Phillies fan’s game-long prayer before the bottom of the ninth.
In a video captured by Etan Horowitz, a Google employee and 10-year-old Jack’s father, Bellinger is seen responding to the young boy’s calls for a baseball by rearing back and tossing one his way. Unfortunately, the ball slipped through his grasp and into the arms of a man in a lime green shirt, whose neon body gobbled up the horsehide off the ground and sat back down with it.
You can watch this video 1,000 times and still not understand what possesses Green Shirt to pocket this one instead of handing it directly to the distraught child (on camera!) right next to him. The “You’ve Gotta Earn It!” ethos? Desire to hand the ball to a kid of his own back at home? It would really be nice to get the capper on this story.
Even worse? According to Horowitz’s tweet, Green Shirt is a Dodgers fan, a rumor we cannot confirm (and an assertion that is only sourced in the initial tweet).
“Dodgers fan” steals baseball meant for 10-year-old boy from Cody Bellinger
That look on his face … and the unflinching nothing on Green Shirt’s face … devastating.
Can the Dodgers possibly chip in and help out Jack, alongside his hometown Phillies? Sure, this kind of thing happens every day. It’s probably happened to you. There was likely a time when you flubbed one, couldn’t jump high enough, and watched your prize roll to somebody else. But just because we can’t help millions recapture their youth doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help Jack.
The worst part is, the “update” to the story isn’t even that wholesome? Typically, these threads end with “UPDATE: Cody reached out!” or “UPDATE: The random man in the stands grew a heart!”
Nope. So far, it’s just, “UPDATE: My son is disappointed, but he has a Little League game.”
Heartwarming, we … guess.
The good news for this young boy and his family? Though he didn’t know it in the video, his Phillies were less than 24 hours away from winning a miracle Sunday game on a Max Muncy two-run error.
The heartbreak is only temporary, whether you’re in Los Angeles or Philadelphia.