Phillies fan who had HR ball rudely swiped from her wins in the end

ByBrett Edgerton ESPN logo
Monday, May 18, 2015

It can certainly be argued that Philadelphia sports fans get a bad wrap. Yes, we know they booed Santa Claus. We heard you the 500th time. But are they really that much ruder and cruder than the rabid fans from other large metropolitan areas?

If your answer to that question is "uh, yes," then this is your lucky day. Because we have fresh new evidence -- yes, Philly, we know it's just one mean man! -- that might finally get you to stop referencing the booing-Santa thing.

On Sunday, during an otherwise harmless Diamondbacks-Phillies game, Philadelphia's Maikel Franco hit his first career home run and a 63-year-old, glove-wearing fan named Joyce Murphy Kiner was in prime position to grab the souvenir.

Until she wasn't. Until she was bumped out of that position by a grown man wearing a jersey.

Watch the horror for yourself:

Oh, Philly. Just when we were ready to say your reputation was unfair and blown out of proportion, this dude comes barreling in out of nowhere to snag a home run ball from a nice lady named Joyce.

But hey, there's a happy ending!

Did you catch the end of that video? If not, watch it again. Kiner garnered immediate sympathy from the Fox Sports Arizona broadcast crew, with former D'Backs manager and current color man Bob Brenly saying "the politeness police ought to arrest that man."

He didn't get arrested (maybe he could've been sent to that courtroom the Eagles used to have at old Veterans Stadium?), but the broadcast crew did make sure Joyce received a Diamondbacks shirt for her efforts.

Then this morning she appeared ona sports-talk radio show on Philly's 97.5 the Fanatic, where she called the perpetrator of the sports crime "a dog."

"You do not do that to a lady," Joyce told host Anthony Gargano. "You hand that ball to a lady."

But hey, don't feel too bad for her. In addition to the free T-shirt and a central role in the latest "Philly sports fans" viral video, Joyce received a pair of front-row tickets to a future Phils game and a gift from a local jeweler, courtesy of the kind folks at 97.5.

Even a Philly sports fan couldn't boo that gesture.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)