KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A video of a man stealing a homerun ball right out of a teen’s glove during yesterday’s Kansas City Royals vs. San Diego Padres game has gone viral.
Turns out the young fan was celebrating his 18th birthday at Kauffman Stadium.
But the Royals took care of this fan, who now said this has been the best birthday yet. It was all a dream for the lifelong Royals fan and something he kind of predicted.
“Telling my friend that went with me ‘Hey you know Juan Soto is going to hit one to me just watch,'” said Bruce Williams, the young fan.
Williams even brought his glove to the game, in anticipation of catching a Soto homerun.
“From the crack of the bat I knew it was coming to me, so I stood up in my seat and snagged it right out of the air. It felt pretty awesome,” said Williams.
There it was, a homerun by Juan Soto, and Williams caught the ball. But a grown man had his sights set on ruining a birthday of a lifetime.
Not only stealing the ball out of Williams’s glove but then running away: his antics upset and scared the 17-year-old.
“I was just kind of scared. I didn’t know what in earth was going on, I just wasn’t trying to fight him,” he said.
In the end, a moment of classlessness led to an incredible gift: the Royals gifted the teenager two signed balls, including one from Juan Soto. They also gave the teen every bobblehead from the entire season.
“It was a bad situation but all in all, it turned into something really good,” said Al Williams, Bruce’s dad.
Bruce and his dad now head to Idaho to finish the birthday celebration. Bruce says this is the best birthday yet.
All this, was an exciting turn of events for Williams on his special day.
