Have You Seen This? The unluckiest fan in the bleachers

THE BALLPARK — I'll never forget the home run ball that got away.

Miguel Montero ripped a line drive at me in the Coors Field bleachers. Trying to act like the cool college kid, I reached out with my bare hand while holding my drink in the other, only to feel it graze off my fingertips before I watched it roll to another soul.

It's all so clear over a decade later. That's why I can somewhat relate to this unfortunate Philadelphia Phillies fan, who somehow left without a home run ball after one controversial moment and an unlucky one afterward.

The humorous and also infuriating moment unfolded at Citizens Bank Park on Monday.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts homered into the seats where a guy in a Phillies jersey snags the ball with his hat. But, as you can see in this replay, the force sends both flying a row behind them, where a fan in a Philadelphia Eagles jersey catches the ball as it rolls off the hat.

This fan had his hands on TWO home run balls and came away with ZERO 😅 pic.twitter.com/kaP84AIxxc
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 21, 2026

He holds it up in celebration when the Phillies jersey guy confronts him and takes the ball, seemingly arguing ownership because it landed in his hat.

There's been some online debate over who should have gotten the ball, but clearly the Eagles jersey guy should have been awarded the ball. The process of the hat catch was not completed, and ballplayers aren't allowed to catch a ball with their caps, so the same rules should apply in the stands as a tiebreaker.

To make things worse for the guy in the Eagles jersey, he barely missed catching another Betts home run later in the game.

But in the end, it's just a ball, and it doesn't matter. Even after dropping my home run glory, I stuck around and watched the Colorado Rockies mount a wild late-inning comeback that also triggered a promotion for free tacos. I left with a memory I find more enjoyable than any object.

The Phillies beat the Dodgers on Monday, so hopefully the guy in the Eagles jersey left Monday's game with that joy to add to an unbelievable story to tell about the home run ball that got away.