A fan in a Bryce Harper jersey did not even try to hide his home run switcheroo during Sunday’s Philadelphia Phillies-New York Mets game.
Mets batter Carson Benge gave his team their first run off a solo shot to left field at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa. The fan was the first to dig it out after Benge’s home run ball fell into the seats.
The youngster was fully aware of the protocol — he was supposed to throw the ball back onto the field. After walking back to his seat, the kid took out a different ball from his bag and threw that one into the left-field grass.
Phillies fan got caught red-handed throwing back a fake home run ball pic.twitter.com/58YL0RrTNN
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 22, 2026
The crime against Phillies fandom was caught on camera. The team broadcast humorously shamed the kid for his misdeed.
The kid was far from the first fan to pull the ‘ol switcheroo to keep a piece of game memorabilia. But veteran fans know how to be much more discreet about it, just like the Los Angeles Dodgers fan who deked everybody in his section with a hidden ball trick to keep a Manny Machado home run ball.
The Harper fan’s infraction did not cost the team any karma points with the baseball gods. The Phillies rode a stellar start from Zack Wheeler to a 6-2 win over the Mets.
