Catching a home run ball is a lifelong dream for any young baseball fan. So when a grown adult snatches that dream right out of the hands of an 11-year-old girl, the internet doesn’t let it slide.

During Monday’s Guardians-Rays game at Progressive Field, a viral moment unfolded that immediately drew comparisons to last year’s infamous “Phillies Karen” incident. Fortunately, this time, the story ended with an apology and a returned baseball.

“I’m so utterly sorry for everything that’s transpired,” the accused Guardians’ fan said on Wednesday. “I made a bad decision; a lot of bad decisions. I’m paying for it online.”

The drama unfolded in the fifth inning when a homer off the Guardians’ Daniel Schneemann went through the right field and landed in the stands. The Rays’ broadcast showed an 11-year-old girl named Evelyn took hold of the ball only to be forcefully snatched away by a man named Maxx Quinn. The footage also showed the girl’s younger brother approached Quinn for the ball, only to be refused.

However, the backlash to the incident was instant. Just after the video went viral, Quinn faced massive online backlash that didn’t even spare his business. Quinn’s local Lakewood business, Uncover Vintage, was flooded with 1-star Google reviews. A few innings later, Quinn walked over and gave the ball back to Evelyn.

“The pressure resulted in the man giving her the home run ball back 4-5 innings later, towards the end of the game,” the girl’s mother, Nikki DeVore, said via a local radio show.

For his defense, Quinn said it was done as a “heat-of-the-moment thing.” According to him, he didn’t realize who he took the ball. But after the backlash, he came back to his senses. “I heard it from the fans and the people. … I was sitting there, and I’m like, ‘I won’t be able to sleep at night if I don’t give this ball back,'” he added.

However, now that the incident ended positively and the accused fan asked for an apology, it’s time to stop hating the guy. “Hi Max, thanks for giving us the ball back. We forgive you for it,” Evelyn said. “We know the internet has been going wild over this and hope they forgive you.”

Fans quickly compared Quinn to the unidentified woman dubbed the “Phillies Karen.” Last September, an unidentified woman aggressively confronted a father and his 9-year-old son at a Marlins game to take a Phillies home run ball he had given to his child. While that episode didn’t end positively, the child was given a signed bat later. On Monday, sideline reporter Ryan Bass offered two balls to Evelyn and her brother just after the incident.

So, at the end of the day, baseball won.

Baseball fans are more than a Phillies Karen episode

While the “Phillies Karen” caught huge attention, obviously for all the wrong reasons, baseball fans stand for larger causes and are built differently.

“There is no room in baseball for discrimination. It is our national pastime and a game for all,” the Yankees’ legendary first baseman, Lou Gehrig, once said. 

How the fans reacted to the Monday’s incident and fought for justice, Gehrig’s words once again proved right. Even in the case of the Phillies Karen incident, the unidentified woman faced a lot of heat for her actions. So, just as baseball stands for his non-discriminatory principle, so do the fans.

You see that same support whenever a player gets hurt. When pitcher Joey Lucchesi took a terrifying 106-mph line drive to the chest in the minors back in 2023, the entire baseball community immediately rallied behind his recovery.

Fans also power causes like “Stand Up To Cancer.” At the 2015 All-Star Game, a packed stadium stood in silent solidarity, holding placards for loved ones battling the disease.

That’s what defines a baseball fan. Yes, incidents like the Phillies Karen keep happening and will continue to happen, but each time they will be met with backlash. “Baseball is more than a game. It’s like life played out on a field,” American songwriter Juliana Hatfield said. Fans are part of that life that can’t go wrong at any time.