Opinion: Can I keep the baseball I caught?
An opinion piece explores the ethical dilemma of whether a fan should keep a baseball caught at a game or give it to a nearby child. The author discusses the intersection of social pressure, personal ownership, and the public shaming of individuals in the digital age.
Why it matters
The piece reflects on how social media has turned minor, personal interactions into public moral tests, highlighting the difference between manners and ethics.
This week, an ethical question, of all things, intruded into the baseball playoffs.
Tuesday night, Dodgers versus Braves, in Atlanta. A young man in a Dodger jersey caught a foul ball in the stands. As so often happens these days, someone seated nearby captured it on video, and then felt compelled to instruct the man, "Give it to the kid! Give it to the kid!"
And indeed there was a small boy, maybe preschool-aged, a few rows back in a Braves jersey.
But the Dodgers fan looked into the man's camera and told what turned out to be millions of viewers on social media, "I'm sorry, I can't! I'm not giving it to the kid! I feel bad, but I'm not giving it to the kid!"
Some commenters denounced the man for keeping the ball. Some others have inveighed against the little boy for looking disappointed.
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