Baseball fans sometimes face a dilemma when catching a home run ball at a game: if the homer came off the bat of a visiting team’s player, do you throw it back onto the field as has become a tradition in many ballparks, or keep the ball and risk the ire of the fans around you?

One fan sitting in the left-field bleachers at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night came up with a solution: do both.

When Padres slugger Manny Machado launched a homer against the Dodgers during San Diego’s 6-3 win, this fan was afforded the opportunity to put his plan into action. He came prepared with a glove on his left hand should a ball come his way, as well as another ball in the right pocket of his Dodgers jacket.

He made a great catch of Machado’s homer and as soon as he had secured the authentic ball, he reached into his jacket pocket and threw the other ball back out onto the field. ESPN’s Buster Olney noticed the sleight of hand immediately and interviewed the fan.

“I got caught, but every ballhawk out here knows to come prepared for a reason like this,” the fan said. “A hated Padre hits a home run, if you don’t throw it back you’re going to get booed mercilessly by the Dodger faithful. That’s happened to me in the past before.”

It didn’t happen this time. The fan said he got some high-fives and compliments on snagging the ball. It was the ESPN telecast that noticed the “switcheroo.”

He may have gotten away with it at the ballpark, but he said he wasn’t so sure he’d get away with it at home.

“The wife won’t like it because I try to collect baseballs a lot,” he said. “I have too many as it is, but this one’s for sure going on the mantle.”