It was a very eventful seventh inning for one Cincinnati Reds fan in the front row on Tuesday. Things did not start out very well in the top of the inning. St. Louis' Stephen Piscotty popped up a foul ball down the first base side. Reds first baseman Joey Votto ranged over to try to make a play. That's when he came into contact with the fan.
Joey Votto gives interfering Reds fan a death stare only to apologize with a signed baseball
The fan appears to bump Votto’s arm as he’s going for the ball, causing Votto to misplay it. It was immediately clear Votto was not pleased as he shot the fan a look that might haunt some. Then Votto put the exclamation point on it. Votto grabbed the fan’s Reds shirt, put an emphasis on the logo and tossed it away in disgust. It was like he was that fan’s parent and told him he wasn’t mad, he was just disappointed.
The seventh inning started pretty terribly for that fan, but things got better. Votto wrote the fan a personalized message on a signed ball to make peace and even posed for a photo with him before the next inning.
Joey Votto hugs a fan & gives him a signed apology ball after he interacted with the fan on a foul ball. #MLBonFS1 pic.twitter.com/GKPb6c1lZM
— FS1 (@FS1) August 3, 2016
From death stare one minute to smiling photo and a signed baseball the next. Not an advisable strategy to get an autograph, but sometimes you fly close to the sun and come away with a selfie with your favorite first baseman.
