Lucas Duda honored Memorial Day by hitting a home run ball to a military member

It's important to take time on Memorial Day to honor all members of our Armed Services. Perhaps you did it by making a small donation to a charity supporting our veterans. Perhaps you know a military member, and you personally thanked them for their service. There is no wrong way to recognize the troops -- any gesture is appreciated.

And so, when Mets first baseman Lucas Duda came to the plate in the bottom of the third inning of Monday's 6-3 win over the Phillies, he decided to perform a small gesture of thanks by giving a member of the military a home run ball.

Specifically, he decided to hit it to him:

That happens to be Lt. Tim Zakriski of the Navy, and this particular matchup with the Phillies was the first Mets game he's ever attended. Not a bad souvenir, right?

Well, Zakriski told MLB.com he had other plans:

"I was hoping to find a young kid to give it to," he said, showing excellent knowledge of the unwritten rules of fandom.

Alas, there wasn't one in the vicinity, so he had no choice but to keep it himself. Which, all things considered, was better than the alternative:

"We were actually hoping it'd be a Phillies [home run] so we could throw it back."

Yes, rivalries know no bounds -- not even among our servicemen and women.