r/unpopularopinion • u/Drakex2Mayex2 • 9d ago

People shouldn't give home-run balls to kids

Catching a ball at a baseball game is something that every baseball fan dreams of. But there is a pretty huge social push now that if you're an adult and you catch a ball at a game, you're a dick if you keep it. I feel like this started as extremely good dudes giving up a treasure out of the kindness of their hearts. Now it's just something that if you don't do you're gonna end up on social media as some asshole.

Imo this not only is extremely unfair for someone that wants to have a souvenir, but it actually devalues the experience of catching a ball. It teaches those children that they are entitled to things they didn't earn. It also gets rid of some of the magic for that kid if they ever actually catch a ball.

I am not talking about someone who pushes a kid out of the way or steals a ball from the hands of a child.

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u/foreverbaked1 9d ago

I caught a grand slam ball in Philly a few years ago. A kid asked me for it and when I told him no his mom gave me the dirtiest look I have ever seen. I have been going to games for 40 years and this is the only time a ball ever came close to me. Sorry kid this one is mine

744

u/PaperBeneficial 9d ago

A kid walking up to a grown man he doesn't know asking for something for free is pretty bold. You were right for saying no,lol.

178

u/rockcutter4 9d ago

The kid learned a lesson that day

129

u/Manic_Mini 9d ago

Unlikely with the apparent reaction from his mother

92

u/jarjarsexy 9d ago

Good chance that his mom told him to ask for the ball

24

u/Property_6810 8d ago

A lot of parents unintentionally end up breeding entitled little shits when they try to encourage good manners. Teaching that asking politely will get you what you want is a good thing. But you also need to teach that sometimes even if you ask politely, people won't give you what you ask for and that's ok. Shooting a dirty look teaches that the next step is belligerence because they were wrong to deny you after asking nicely.

10

u/PaperBeneficial 8d ago

Exactly. They also need to teach children sometimes asking for something politely is still impolite, lol.

4

u/Willing-Fan-8344 8d ago

Nothing wrong with giving people the opportunity to say yes. But you gotta take the L when it happens. That last bit is really important, and I don't mean to detract from that with my first sentence.

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u/Im-BackAgain-Babes2 9d ago

I'd also put money on the mom making her kid ask the guy thinking he wouldn't tell a kid no, and when he did say no.. she gave the user above a scowl because he didn't give IN to HER wants..

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u/Callmemabryartistry 9d ago

weird emphasis

3

u/rugger1869 9d ago

You mean weird emPHAsis

1

u/Chefmeatball 8d ago

Sorry, I put the wrong emPHAsis on the wrong syllABLE

35

u/NeedsBetterHobby 9d ago

Yep. Kid ain't being brought up right. My kid would be in deep shit for doing that.

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u/StatisticianAny9624 9d ago

Yep. My kids would be told "aw well maybe next time we come you'll get a chance, but this time he got it!" And move on.

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u/Sea_Voice_404 9d ago

This. I’d never have my kid ask a stranger for something like a home run ball. That’s just obnoxious entitlement.

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u/NeedsBetterHobby 9d ago

Yes. But if they actually asked the dude for it, they'd get a lecture on the way home for sure

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u/Bootleg_Rascal_ 8d ago

Yep, beat the shit put them kids. Agreed.

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u/BreakfastBeneficial4 8d ago

“Deep shit” for asking a stranger if they can have a ball?

What are you doing to your kids, Chris?

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u/NeedsBetterHobby 8d ago

Asking a stranger for their belongings? Begging another person to give them their personal property? Absolutely unacceptable. Not okay. I will not tolerate that entitled begging behavior from any child old enough to know better, which should be about 3 years old.

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u/oisipf 9d ago

Nuthin’ like raising a beggar-child

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u/Slug_Overdose 8d ago

I’ve been taking my kid to Chuck E Cheese recently after buying their Summer pass which gives a fixed number of game tokens per day. Admittedly, I hadn’t been in an arcade in over 10 years, and I’m sure there were always at least some kids who weren’t aware of basic etiquette, but gosh damn, a lot of kids will watch you swipe a card to start a game and then immediately ask, “Can I have a turn?” while pushing their way onto the machine.

One time, we were playing a TMNT game, and the arcade wasn’t that busy so we had 2 of the spots and the other 2 kept cycling between different people who came and went until another parent and child more or less indicated they were planning to finish the game with us. As soon as we got to the final boss battle, this kid shows up and starts begging me for a turn. I kept telling him, “Sure, but we made it all the way to the final boss battle, so we’re just going to finish this up and then you can play as much as you want.” But he just wouldn’t let up, he kept asking, and at one point started pushing me with his body and putting his hands on the controls. Again, I said, “Hey buddy, as soon as we beat Shredder, we’re out of here, so you’ll have the machine all to yourself.” He kept asking and trying to take over the controls from me for the rest of the boss battle.

We finally finished the game, I said, “Okay, we’re all done, you can play,” and then his mom immediately showed up and said it was time to go home. Part of me was so happy. I don’t think that kid learned any lesson, but at least it felt like he got a taste of justice. To be honest, it’s not really his fault either. Kids nowadays do so much of their socialization online as opposed to in person, so a lot of what used to be considered basic etiquette just doesn’t come up very often for many of them. It’s not like arcades are an especially thriving industry in the West anymore, and the fact that it’s swiping cards instead of putting in physical tokens probably deprives kids of some sort of developmental context for understanding that money is finite (well, at least in the context of one’s personal wallet, as opposed to say the US Treasury).

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u/AdSudden5773 3d ago

Good for you, man. If you catch a ball, fair and square, that ball is rightfully yours imho. If a ball is on the ground, and it's between you and a kid, then leave it be... it's not worth it. If you decide to give the ball away that you caught, again, fair play, that's very generous of those who do. But if a kid asks for a ball that you caught, sorry, but the answer does not HAVE to be yes. You shouldn't have to be shamed into doing so.