Guardians fan apologizes to little girl on TV after stealing HR ball in viral moment

During a recent Cleveland Guardians game, things got passionate in the crowd. In the 5th inning, Guardians’ Daniel Schneemann hit a home run that went through left field and landed in the stands.

The television broadcast of the game showed an 11-year-old girl named Evelyn taking hold of the ball. However, the girl’s dream came shattering down when a man named Maxx Quinn forcefully snatched it from her. The footage also showed the girl’s younger brother approaching Quinn for the ball, only to be refused. Shortly after the footage went viral on the internet, fans started calling out Quinn’s behavior.

However, since then, Quinn has understood his behavior and issued a public apology. “I mean, first of all, I want to put out an apology. I just want to say, I am sorry. I am sorry to the family, I am sorry to the parents, the little girl, her brother,” he said in a statement to Cleveland-based WJW-TV.

“I’m so utterly sorry for everything that’s transpired. Like you said, it was a heat-of-the-moment thing. I made a bad decision; a lot of bad decisions. I’m paying for it online. And I understand the backlash, and I understand that everything that everyone has said to me. But there was no mal intent, and I did give it back to her. You know, I didn’t do it in a timely fashion. If I could do it all over again, just grab it, give it to her, and be done it,” he finished.

The incident took place during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Monday, Apr. 27, 2026. Quinn’s act was caught on camera and heavily booed by the fans. Even play-by-play announcer Andy Freed called out Quinn’s actions.

The little Guardians fan responds to Maxx Quinn’s act

In the same broadcast on Cleveland’s WJW-TV, the hosts also showed the 11-year-old Evelyn’s reaction to the entire situation. “Hi Maxx, thanks for giving us the ball back. We forgive you for it. We know the internet has been going wild over this. We hope they forgive you,” she said.

Quinn proceeded to thank Eveleyn for her gracious response, as well as share his gratitude with her entire family. However, he also mentioned how he and his local business have been attacked online for this. “I’ve also learned the internet is a very mean, scary place,” he said. “A lot of people have said a lot of really mean things. I’ve handled it. I’ve tried to block it out and get away from it, but people find a way to say stuff and try to get in contact with me.”

Max Quinn, the guy who stole a baseball from an 11-year-old girl at a Guardians baseball game, gives a public apology, and the little girl forgives him during a local TV interview.

He handled it much better than the "Philly Karen" pic.twitter.com/GBbVdzZGgG

— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) April 30, 2026

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