Miami Marlins Ball Boy Goes Viral For Inexplicably Throwing Live Ball Into Stands
Midway through the Miami Marlins' home game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night, a team staffer committed a brutal blunder.
The Marlins were already trailing the Dodgers 3-0 entering the sixth inning, which began with superstar Mookie Betts getting on base via a one-out walk. First baseman Freddie Freeman followed that up by curling a line drive to the right side, one that dropped just inside the first base line for a hit.
The ball boy patrolling that side of the field clearly didn't think it was a fair ball, though, as he casually fielded it himself. Without hesitation, the man chucked the ball into the stands.
Right fielder Jesús Sánchez stared at the ball boy with his hand on his hip as Freeman celebrated over at second base. The confusion at loanDepot Park eventually morphed into boos from the hometown crowd.
The play was ruled as fan interference, Freeman was awarded a double and Betts was allowed to score from first.
Los Angeles wound up tacking on four runs in that inning, later beating Miami 10-0.
In addition to snapping their six-game winning streak, the loss Thursday damaged the Marlins' position in the NL Wild Card race. Miami is now 0.5 games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third and final NL Wild Card spot at 72-68.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, extended their lead over the Diamondbacks in the NL West to 13.0 games. Los Angeles is on the cusp of clinching its 11th consecutive postseason bid, while Miami is aiming to snag just its second in the last 20 years.
The Marlins will return to play Friday against the Philadelphia Phillies – another NL Wild Card contender – but the team's ball boy will remain in Miami as the rest of the club heads up to the City of Brotherly Love.
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