A woman who was incorrectly identified as the person seen on live TV seemingly taking a ball from a young fan at an MLB game has decided to clarify the situation.
If you haven’t been disconnected from the world this weekend, you likely saw the incident unfold when the Marlins played against the Phillies at LoanDepot Park last Friday (September 5).
During the game, Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader hit a home run, sending the ball into the stands where fans eagerly attempted to catch it. In baseball, it’s customary that if a ball lands among the spectators, whoever catches it is free to keep it.
As the ball flew into the crowd, several fans reached for it. A gray-haired fan nearly caught it but ultimately missed.
A father eventually retrieved the ball and gave it to his thrilled son.
However, the woman who initially missed the catch approached the family and demanded the ball back, leading the surprised father to reluctantly hand it over from his son’s glove.
This entire event was captured by TV cameras, showing the woman asserting: “You took it from me. It was in my hand.”
Cheryl Richardson-Wagner, who was mistakenly believed to be the woman in question, addressed the situation on Facebook with a spirited response.
She posted: “OK everyone. I’m NOT the crazy Philly Mom (but I sure would love to be as thin as she is and move as fast)… and I’m a Red Sox fan!”
In the comments, a Facebook user expressed frustration over the false identification: “We are really upset that someone would make such a ridiculous claim,” they wrote. “Cheryl we got your back.”
With Richardson-Wagner confirming she isn’t the woman involved, the actual identity of the person remains unknown.
This scenario is reminiscent of the situation involving former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, who was seen on camera having a great time with Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot at a Coldplay concert in July.
Another individual named Andy Byron, from Dublin, had a peculiar day as people confused him with the CEO seen in the viral video.
He told the Sun: “I started getting messages from the lads asking if I enjoyed the Coldplay concert – and we were having a bit of craic about it.
“Then I started getting strangers from LinkedIn messaging ‘saying you got caught out bad’ and how ashamed I should be – a lot of people on a moral high horse.
“The actual Andy took his LinkedIn page down so everyone started messaging me – it got so bad that I had to turn all my notifications off.”