Dear Urban Diplomat: If I catch a foul ball at a Jays game, do I have to give it to a kid in the stands?

I was at a Jays game with my buddies last week and caught a foul ball. The crowd applauded—it was a nice one-handed snag—then started chanting, “Give it to a kid.” Thing is, I have a son who wasn’t at the game, and I wanted to give it to him. The chants got louder and snarkier. I dug in, shook my head and mouthed, “It’s for my son.” By then, a section’s worth of boos were already raining down on me. I was in the right, right?

—Catch-22, Cliffside

If it’s any consolation, no Jays fan hated you as much as they loathed that unfortunately bearded man-child who caught Moustakas’ bogus homer in the playoffs last year. In fact, your critics likely forgot about the whole episode as soon as they found something new to boo about: a questionable call, a pitcher who kept checking first, Bautista getting punched in the face again. There is an unwritten stadium rule that states every foul ball be given to a kid—and, ideally, said kid is on-site, but if you did indeed give it to your absentee son, your conscience should be clear. Next time, just bring him to the game and make everyone happy.

Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at urbandiplomat@torontolife.com

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