Diamondbacks’ Kole Calhoun admits defeat, a fan of fist punches who stole a rotten ball from him

All Kole Calhoun could do was smile, stare, hold out a hand, and do some good exercise.

The Diamondbacks right fielder had just been denied the opportunity by a young fan to catch a foul fly against the Braves who brought his glove to the game in Truist Park, Atlanta on Friday night.

When Calhoun assessed the situation and found there was no fan interference, he gave the child a punch.

Calhoun was upset, but he didn’t have an argument. He reached into the stands, which meant the boy had every right to the ball.

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In the end, the attack was still good for the D-backs when Austin Riley, the brave who hit the ball, was knocked out on the next seat. Atlanta won the game 5-4.

There is a postscript for this story. Paul Byrd of Bally Sports South interviewed the fan, 13-year-old Cordell McLerran, who was playing his first Braves game. Young Cord said that Calhoun had told him, “You caught this one; let me catch the next one.”

“Paul’𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗜’𝗺 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮, 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄.” @ PaulByrd36 caught up with the fan of the night who says @KoleCalhoun said to him, “You caught this one, let me catch the next one.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/dlR8ldJlEO

– Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) April 24, 2021

This article has been updated.