A man in the outfield bleachers at Wrigley Field might be guilty of impersonating a Mets fan.
SNY showed a video clip Saturday of an unidentified man wearing a Mets-logoed hat and shirt celebrating that he wound up with the ball from catcher Francisco Alvarez’s fifth-inning home run.
But as Cubs fans, including one sitting right next to him who appeared to be a friend, urged him to throw the ball back onto the field, the fan complied and gave up his souvenir.
The Mets’ broadcast booth was disgusted.
“That is too much peer pressure,” announcer Steve Gelbs said. “Grow a spine, man.”
Added analyst Ron Darling, “Obviously, not a leader.”
It is rare that the SNY booth bites its tongues when criticism is deserved.
It is tradition at some ballparks, including Wrigley, for fans of the home team to throw back home-run balls hit by the visiting team, as a way of saying no thanks and protesting the runs.
But it is rare for a fan to throw back his favorite team’s home-run balls, even in a road ballpark, as was the case in this situation.
Darling said that “a lot of Cubs fans, if they sit in the bleachers, are not opposed to bringing a ball with them and throwing that back on the field and keeping the home run ball.
But that might be their little secret.”
Shortly after, the man was seen pulling his phone out of his pocket, as if people who know him were alerting him that he was about to become viral.
He was holding a plastic baseball-bat-figured drink container in his other hand.
The solo home run by Alvarez cut into a 6-0 deficit and marked his third of the season and second in as many days at hitter-friendly Wrigley, but the Mets ended up losing, 8-1, after Tylor Megill’s brutal outing.
A Cubs fan threw back Alvarez’s home-run ball in Friday’s game, despite the disappointed look of a kid next to him who might have had other plans for the keepsake.
