Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton and the Baltimore Orioles turned a negative into a positive on Wednesday.
The All-Star jumped into action after a complaint from a fan started going viral, in which they outlined how their son had received a signed ball from his favorite player, Buxton, only to have it stolen in the stands at the Baltimore Orioles’ Camden Yards:
Arguably one of the worst baseball game experiences of my life last night. Camden was autograph hunting and was lucky enough to get his favorite Twins player, Byron Buxton, to sign his ball. As the ball is being handed back to him by the usher, someone else grabs it and bolts. He is in instant tears and inconsolable once I make it over to him from our seats. Luckily chicken tenders and pizza helped eased the pain but of course when we got to the parking garage he started to cry again.
As the complaint circulated, Buxton replied to the fan account vowing to “make it right.”
Hope to see you today or meet you at some point! We will make it right! I gotcha!
— Buck (@OfficialBuck103) April 17, 2024
Fast-forward a few hours, and the young fan’s family had front-row seats, and Twins reporter Audra Martin was handing him not only a new signed ball but signed batting gloves and a bat as well. Martin later said on X that she asked Buxton for only a new signed ball, but he responded with the extras.
The seats were reportedly a gift from the Orioles, who also wanted to help.
As the fan’s father told Martin:
“The generosity of the Baltimore Orioles to see something that went wrong, even though he’s cheering for the other team, and just to give that generosity is absolutely amazing.
“It’s amazing. We were trying not to make a big deal out of it because stuff happens sometimes and it just went around. I’m just so glad that a negative day turned into something positive for him.”
The Orioles went on to defeat the Twins 4-2 on Wednesday.