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‘SportsCenter’ Anchors Lay Into Phillies Fan Over Home Run Ball Controversy

A Phillies fan who insisted on taking back a home run ball found themselves as an enemy of the internet on Friday night.

Tyler Lauletta

‘SportsCenter’ anchors Nicole Briscoe and Michael Eaves were not at all pleased with how this Phillies fan behaved on Friday night.
‘SportsCenter’ anchors Nicole Briscoe and Michael Eaves were not at all pleased with how this Phillies fan behaved on Friday night. / ESPN
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The Phillies defeated the Marlins on Friday night in Miami by a score of 9–3, with the win helping Philadelphia hold on to the No. 2 spot in the NL standings with just under a month to go before the postseason.

But while it was a good outcome on the field for the Phillies, for some fans in the stands, Friday night was quite an ordeal. After centerfielder Harrison Bader hit a home run into the stands in the fourth inning, one fan, who did not come away with the home run ball, insisted that their claim to the ball was valid, despite the ball already being in the hands of a child.

Eventually, the fan who had gotten the ball relented, taking the ball out of the child’s glove and giving it to the insistent fan, who walked away in a huff. It was a bizarre scene.

The Phillies fan who ultimately left with the ball came under fire from fans across the internet, and also left SportsCenter anchors Nicole Briscoe and Michael Eaves in disbelief as they recapped the interaction.

“Really lady?” Eaves asked, incredulous. “Hate to call her a Karen, but...” Briscoe said.

“I don’t care lady who you are. You didn’t have a kid with you. He did. It is about them,” Briscoe concluded. “What the hell? What is wrong with people?”

“You didn’t catch it! It’s fair game!” Eaves insisted.

Thankfully, despite the awkwardness of the moment, the story had a happy ending, with the fan who gave up the ball receiving a nice prize package from the Marlins staff at the stadium and getting to meet Bader after the game to receive a signed bat.

A lesson for everyone though—when in doubt, let the kid keep the ball.

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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