Astros fan steals home run ball from sister-in-law to throw back onto the field

@WillBrinson/Twitter

• An Astros fan stole a baseball from his sister-in-law after Yasiel Puig hit a big World Series home run.
• The fan cited “bad karma” for why it was important to get rid of the ball.

Game 5 of the World Series was a stressful one for Houston Astros fans.

After the Astros mounted three separate comebacks against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston was up 12-9 in the ninth inning with a chance to go up 3-2 in the series. But Los Angeles did not go quietly as Yasiel Puig hit a two-run home run into the right field stands to cut the Astros’ lead to one.

A Fox camera zoomed in on the Astros fan who caught the home run ball. It was immediately snatched out of her hand by another fan who threw the ball back onto the field in protest of the runs scored against the home side.

The people involved confronted each other, but the cameras returned to game action, leaving fans at home to wonder how the brief interaction played out.

After the game, Matt Young at the Houston Chronicle caught up with the fans in question — in-laws Sarah Head and Kirk Head — and reported that the two were laughing about the incident the very next inning, when the Astros would seal the win.

Sarah was aware of the tradition of throwing the ball back onto the field, and told the Chronicle “I just would have liked to have been able to throw it back myself.”

But Kirk was anxious to get the ball out quickly, with superstitions running high as the Astros were in the middle of blowing a three-run lead in the final inning.

“It’s bad karma to keep it,” Kirk said. “You’ve got to throw it back. I was just making sure she did.”

While Kirk did get overeager and rob the opportunity to throw the ball back from Sarah, after the Astros sealed the win, it was an “All’s well that ends well” type of situation for the Head family.