Fan who had ball stolen from him at a Kansas City Royals game asks team to take action
After watching his story about the wrong kind of home-run theft go viral nationally and in Canada, Bruce Williams hopes another fan won’t have it happen to them at Kauffman Stadium.
Williams, a 17-year-old from Stockton, Missouri, caught a home run off the bat of the Padres’ Juan Soto at Sunday’s Royals game, only to see another spectator take it away.
The man then ran from the scene. The Royals gave Williams signed baseballs from KC shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and Soto, along with a bunch of bobbleheads.
But the team, which identified the fan as Mark Kirsch, said it had no plans to bar him from future games.
Williams sent a message to The Star saying he hopes the Royals will change their position about that.
“There’s only one thing better than baseball, and that’s watching baseball live at your favorite team’s home field,” he wrote. “And there’s no place like Kauffman Stadium! From the fountains to that smell of BBQ in the air...
“When grown men like Mr. Kirsch come there and act childish and aggressive for several games in a row it’s disheartening to read that there won’t be any repercussions for his behavior that essentially ended up in him committing theft.
“I love my Royals and I understand the excitement of going after a home run ball, but I hope that they will reconsider and ban Mr. Kirsch for a minimum of the rest of the season and set the tone that this kind of behavior which amounts to bullying and will not be tolerated in the future.
“Forever Royal, Bruce Williams.”
