On Sunday night, in the ninth inning of the crazy World Series Game 5 that rolled over into Monday morning for most parts of the country, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig hit a one-armed bomb that either showcased his immense strength, showcased how juiced the World Series balls are, or showcased some combination of the two. Puig's swing of the bat cut Houston's lead to one, and Los Angeles tied the game a few batters later (though they eventually lost).
After the ball landed in Minute Maid Park's left field Crawford boxes, the Fox TV camera stayed on the action just long enough to catch a guy stealing the ball from the woman who originally held it before he chucked it back on the field. The footage quickly went viral:
While, on the surface, the man's gesture seemed like a jerk-off move from some randomly overexuberant fan, that's not exactly the story (or, at least, not exactly the full story).
According to Mike Oz of Yahoo Sports' Big League Stew, the woman who held the ball for one or two seconds is Sarah Head, and the dude who snagged the ball is her brother-in-law, Kirk Head. Sarah, who appears annoyed in the brief moment captured above was pissed, but only because she didn't get to toss the ball back on the field. "I would have liked the opportunity to throw it back myself," she told Yahoo. She further added that she knew he was going to take it and throw it back.
Because we live in a crazy world where there is no order or real gatekeepers anymore, the guy who tossed the ball was vilified (here's a Reddit thread on the topic to peep if you're bored). When asked by Yahoo to defend himself from any backlash, he simply stated "Fuck the Dodgers."
Also, according to Yahoo, the in-laws made up. Which is good (we guess) since we were very concerned about the well-being of this family we were completely unaware of less than 24 hours ago. "We hugged and made up afterward," Kirk said. "We talked about giving her my Nolan Ryan signed bat and ball."
That peace offering will have to do.
Also, feel free to keep a HR ball regardless of what team hit it (especially if it's the freakin' World Series!):
