Cubs fan who appeared to steal foul ball from kid not actually a bad guy

Turns out the fan had actually helped the boy get a ball earlier in the game. Photo / Twitter

While a baseball fan appeared to break one of the sport's biggest unwritten rules, outraged Twitter users seemed to forget that there are always two sides to a story.

An adult Chicago Cubs fan copped a nasty backlash on social media after he was caught on camera appearing to take a foul ball that was meant for a kid.

The man was slammed as a "douchebag," "monster," and "ass****" by Twitter users as the video quickly went viral.

Really tho, can #CubsTwitter help expose this asshole? pic.twitter.com/Yj77mZPpt6

— 𝙘𝙪𝙟𝙤 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣💬 (@cujoknows) July 23, 2018

A @javy23baez signed ball should take care of it. #EverybodyIn pic.twitter.com/4YzUlG8qfN

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 22, 2018

The Cubs then rectified the apparent situation by giving the kid two replacement balls, including one signed by Javier Baez.

However, NBC Sports Chicago host David Kaplan has set the record straight and said the man had actually already helped the boy get a ball earlier in the game - reportedly being the unsigned ball the kid held in photos.

"I spoke with people from the Cubs. The man who grabbed the ball on the widely seen video had actually already helped the little boy get a ball earlier. The young man has a game used ball and a Javy Baez ball. All is well. Guy is A-OK so let it go, people," Kaplan wrote on Twitter.

I spoke with people from the Cubs. The man who grabbed the ball on the widely seen video had actually already helped the little boy get a ball earlier. The young man has a game used ball and a Javy Baez ball. All is well. Guy is A-OK so let it go people.

— David Kaplan (@thekapman) July 23, 2018

A number of other fans who were at the game also defended the man on social media and said he was a "great guy".

"He had already helped that kid get a ball. He gave two more away to kids also. He was a great guy. TV got this all wrong," one fan wrote.

He had already helped that kid get a ball. He gave two more away to kids also. He was a great guy. TV got this all wrong.

— Chuck Mycoff (@cmycoff2) July 22, 2018

I was sitting the next to the boy and the same fan helped him snag a ball a few innings before this.

— Jeff Rose, CFP® (@jjeffrose) July 23, 2018

The other ball the kid has was the one the same guy caught and gave him before this. I was sitting next to him.

— Chuck Mycoff (@cmycoff2) July 22, 2018

So what did we learn Twitter users? Don't trust a 12-second clip to show the whole story.