Foul Ball Foul-Up: Man Nearly Knocks Down Boy, Keeps Ball

Next of Kin · Post by **Next of Kin** » 2004-06-16 06:06pm

Good work buddy! Pushing over a 4 year old and his mom to get at a foul ball makes you the biggest asshole of the year.

Foul Ball Foul-Up: Man Nearly Knocks Down Boy, Keeps Ball
Incident Irks Fans, Sportscaster

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Gary Matthews Jr., lifted a foul ball into the stands at Ameriquest Field in Arlington in the third inning of Sunday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, but it turned out to be no routine foul ball.

A man went tumbling to get the baseball and nearly knocked over a 4-year-old boy named Nicholas. The boy's mother was not happy about it and neither was Texas Rangers broadcaster Tom Grieve.

"Yeah, you got the ball, buddy. Nice going, you took it away from a little kid. Hold it up, you should be real proud of yourself," Grieve said during the televised broadcast. "Go to a sporting goods store and buy a dozen baseballs if you want them that bad."

"You know, there is a jerk in every park, and there is the biggest jerk in this park," Grieve said while the camera was focused on the man.

Little Nicholas proved to come out the winner in the end, as other kids gave him baseballs. Even better, the Cardinals' Reggie Sanders, who was watching the game in the clubhouse, came out and gave the boy a baseball and a bat.

Other fans were chanting for the man to "give [the boy] the ball"... The man kept the ball all to himself and reportedly left the game after the fourth inning.

Source: NBC[/url]

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2004-06-16 06:10pm

Good on Sanders and the other fans. What a wanker, truly. As if you do that to a kid and not realise it's a no-no even without cameras pointing at you.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-06-16 06:15pm

He may get his ass kicked for being such a shithead.

Ma Deuce · Post by **Ma Deuce** » 2004-06-16 06:50pm

What an asshole: I saw it on the news last night.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-16 07:24pm

Here's the Yahoo! story about this asshole:

"ARLINGTON, Texas - A 4-year-old boy who lost a foul ball to a not-so-grown-up adult is getting a windfall worthy of a game-winning home run hitter.

A man sitting behind Nick O'Brien at a Texas Rangers (news) baseball game Sunday knocked the boy against the seats as he dived to get a foul ball. Fans started chanting "Give him the ball!" but the man wouldn't give it up.

"I couldn't believe someone would do something like that to a 4-year-old boy," said Nick's mother, Edie O'Brien.

O'Brien said she swatted the man with a cardboard fan and called him a jerk, among other names. "I said, 'You trampled a 4-year-old boy to get this ball,' and he said, 'Oh, well,'" she told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, adding that the man seemed proud he got the ball.

Video shows Nick was standing up as the man dived across the boy's seat to grab the ball at Nick's feet. The man's leg strikes the boy, and the boy is jostled a second time as the man stands up with the ball and appears to exchange words with the mother.

Nick wasn't hurt, but fan outrage mushroomed, and even Rangers announcer Tom Grieve voiced his disapproval on TV, calling the man "the biggest jerk in this park." The man and a woman with him left before the game was over.

Meanwhile, the Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals (news) quickly made sure Nick got souvenirs of his own — two bats and four baseballs, including one signed by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, a former Ranger.

Cardinals outfielder Reggie Sanders came out between innings to give Nick a bat and ball. "In my heart, I thought I should do something," said Sanders. "It's all about the kids."

The man who took the foul ball has not responded publicly to the criticism, but The Dallas Morning News identified him as Matt Starr, a married, 28-year-old landscaper and former youth minister.

Starr is "not the bad guy he's been made out to be," said Rick DuBose, senior pastor of the Sachse Assembly of God Church. "He probably got a little aggressive and did something he regrets. But that's not Matt. He's a good kid, a good young man." [boldface emphasis from Elfdart]

On "Good Morning America," host Charles Gibson gave the O'Briens more souvenirs Wednesday -this time from the New York Mets (news). The family got tickets to Wednesday night's game against the Cleveland Indians (news).

"Wow," Nick responded. "

Being a member of a church doesn't prove someone is good. Knocking aside a four-year-old to get a ball does prove that someone is an asshole. Especially when -if it's an accident, which this wasn't- you don't have the balls to apologize. People have already been on this loser's case since the local stations are beating it to death ( I live in the DFW area.).

He's lucky he didn't pull that shit on my nephew when my brother took him to a game. The dickhead would be eating his meals through a straw.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2004-06-16 07:43pm

"He probably got a little aggressive and did something he regrets. But that's not Matt. He's a good kid, a good young man."

Denial isn't just a river in Egypt. Yeah, it's not him, despite the fact that he fucking did it.

Post by **Gandalf** » 2004-06-16 09:50pm

I saw him on the news last night.

I like that the kid got the balls + bat.

darthdavid · Post by **darthdavid** » 2004-06-16 09:56pm

Dumb fucking cunt needs to die.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-06-16 10:02pm

Don't be a retarded bitch. He an asshole, but I was not aware that assholeness carried or should carry the death penalty.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2004-06-16 10:10pm

Death penalty is excessive. But when you callously manhandle a 4-year old in order to get to a fucking foul ball and then refuse to apologize, fairness would demand that you get beaten up by someone far larger and more powerful than you.

What the fuck kind of youth pastor sets that kind of example? The kind that we eventually read about in the paper in a headline that has the word "molest" in it?

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2004-06-16 10:19pm

Darth Wong wrote:Death penalty is excessive. But when you callously manhandle a 4-year old in order to get to a fucking foul ball and then refuse to apologize, fairness would demand that you get beaten up by someone far larger and more powerful than you.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2004-06-16 10:20pm

Darth Wong wrote:
What the fuck kind of youth pastor sets that kind of example? The kind that we eventually read about in the paper in a headline that has the word "molest" in it?

I wonder if he was one of those "Church volunteers" who have a tendency to wear their religion like a badge vice actually living it....

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-16 10:38pm

What I want to know is where was security? This guy should have been kicked out of The Ballpark At Arlington and told not to return. The guy was on video! Not only did he knock over a 4-year-old, but he acted like an asshole afterward.

Maybe security was too busy making sure people didn't bring their own drinks into the park.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2004-06-16 10:40pm

I would have thought security should have escorted him out for his own safety. Ass.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2004-06-16 10:41pm

I would have thought security should have escorted him out for his own safety. Ass.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2004-06-16 10:42pm

Bah, come some mod delete my DP(and this one)?

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-16 10:46pm

But they didn't tell him to leave and they should have. If he had season tickets, they should have been revoked -as the park and the franchise had every right to do. He's lucky fans in Arlington are very laid back. In some venues, he would have needed a police escort out.

Lonestar · Post by **Lonestar** » 2004-06-16 10:53pm

Well, my point is, that would be the excuse I'd use when I had security escort him out. He'd know and I'd know it was really because he was a wankus, but My people would never utter those words. It would be a nice, safe way to get him out of the stadium.

Bugsby · Post by **Bugsby** » 2004-06-16 11:18pm

I know I will become instantly unpopular by saying this, but here I go....

Watch the footage. The way you make it sound, the kid was going for the ball but the guy picked him up, threw him out of the way, and jumped on the ball. In reality, the kid didnt even notice the ball. It was just laying there, with other people reaching for it. The guy was in the row behind, dived for it, and when his legs hit the seats, they bounced off and bumped the kid in the head. It was barely a tap.

Now I know it was dumb, and he should have apologized to the kid, but people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. The guy got way too excited and did something dumb. I am sure everyone here has been in the exact same position, only your stupid incident wasnt captured on national TV and debated on SportsCenter. This guy is still a jerk, but not as much as everyone thinks. Stories like this tend to get one-sided pretty quick (the death penalty

). I am just trying to keep things in perspective.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-16 11:21pm

Lonestar wrote:Well, my point is, that would be the excuse I'd use when I had security escort him out. He'd know and I'd know it was really because he was a wankus, but My people would never utter those words. It would be a nice, safe way to get him out of the stadium.

I disagree. What he did could have seriously injured another fan -a little kid. He should have been shown the door immediately. By the way, I found out that part of the security at Rangers games are police officers. Take the trash to the curb.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-16 11:35pm

Well only one person so far has been in favor of killing the guy and I think that was facetious -or I hope so. What he actually did wasn't nearly as bad as what could have happened when this putz leaped over the kid's seat. The kid could have been injured and the fact that this guy pulled this stunt, in my opinion, means he should have been told to leave the park and not come back. No lynchings or anything.

However, if it was my 5-year-old nephew and I had taken him to the game only to have this dork leap over him like that, the bozo would get my size 15-4E shoe up his ass. Or maybe he'd luck out and get kicked by my brother, who has smaller feet.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2004-06-17 12:10am

Bugsby wrote: Now I know it was dumb, and he should have apologized to the kid, but people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. The guy got way too excited and did something dumb. I am sure everyone here has been in the exact same position, only your stupid incident wasnt captured on national TV and debated on SportsCenter. This guy is still a jerk, but not as much as everyone thinks. Stories like this tend to get one-sided pretty quick (the death penalty ). I am just trying to keep things in perspective.

Let's assume he did'nt mean to lean over the boy and get the ball. The guy is still a class "A" fuck because he did'nt apologize and because he didn't do the right thing which would have been to say " I'm sorry son..here you go. This ball is for you."

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2004-06-17 12:21am

TrailerParkJawa wrote:
Bugsby wrote: Now I know it was dumb, and he should have apologized to the kid, but people are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one. The guy got way too excited and did something dumb. I am sure everyone here has been in the exact same position, only your stupid incident wasnt captured on national TV and debated on SportsCenter. This guy is still a jerk, but not as much as everyone thinks. Stories like this tend to get one-sided pretty quick (the death penalty ). I am just trying to keep things in perspective.
Let's assume he did'nt mean to lean over the boy and get the ball. The guy is still a class "A" fuck because he did'nt apologize and because he didn't do the right thing which would have been to say " I'm sorry son..here you go. This ball is for you."

True. A simple apology and giving the kid the ball would have pretty much laid things to rest. I think his behavior after going over the seat turned off more people the deed itself.

Sarevok · Post by **Sarevok** » 2004-06-17 02:49am

What exactly is a fould ball in baseball ? Is it like scoring a six on Cricket ?

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2004-06-17 03:03am

evilcat4000 wrote:What exactly is a fould ball in baseball ? Is it like scoring a six on Cricket ?

Hitting a ball that lands in foul territory.