ATLANTA -- A young boy who had a baseball taken away from him by a security guard at SunTrust Park on Wednesday has received a Freddie Freeman autographed baseball and an invitation to celebrate his birthday at a Braves' home game in June.
The Braves extended these offers in response to what occurred after Rio Ruiz doubled down the right-field line during the eighth inning of Wednesday's 12-5, 10-inning loss to the Pirates. An unidentified man reached onto the field to snare the live baseball and quickly handed it to his girlfriend's son.
A security guard rushed to the area and jumped into the seats to eject the man, who had interfered with a ball in play. But in the process, he also opted to take the ball from the young boy, which drew the ire from other fans -- as well as team officials.
After initially being escorted away, the man and the young boy were allowed to return to their seats for the remainder of the game.