Teen Tackled and Robbed of Home-Run Ball at Giants Game

By Bay City News Service

A 16-year-old was tackled and robbed after catching a home-run ball at the San Francisco Giants game on Wednesday afternoon, a police spokesman said.

A man stole the ball from the teen at about 3 p.m. during the Giants' game against the Boston Red Sox, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.

The ball had been hit by Boston shortstop Stephen Drew and the teen snagged it, Esparza said. Drew hit the three-run homer over the right field wall in the seventh inning of the game at AT&T Park.

Afterward, a man came up from behind the boy, tackled him, pulled the boy's arm behind his back and took the ball, Esparza said.

The suspect is described as a black man between 35 and 40-years-old who stands about 5-feet-9-inches tall and weighs roughly 230 pounds. The man was wearing a black baseball cap, a black T-shirt and black jeans.

He had not been found as of Thursday morning, according to Esparza.

The boy was treated at the ballpark for pain to his right wrist but did not need to be taken to a hospital, Esparza said.

A video of the home-run posted on MLB.com appears to show a scrum for the ball, after which a bald black man in a black jacket stood up and held the ball in the air.

A spokesperson for the Giants was not immediately available to comment on the incident. The Giants lost Wednesday's game to the Red Sox in a 12-1 rout.

Copyright © 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.