Ballpark Etiquette

A very interesting situation developed in Texas earlier this week. Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland tossed a ball into the stands. An older gentleman (in his 40s or 50s) catches the ball and gives it to his wife. The young kid seated next to him (3 or 4) started to cry. The couple was indifferent to his wails and kept the ball, even posing for pictures with it.
The kid was very cute and eventually someone from the Rangers dugout did toss him a ball, making his day and bringing a delightful smile to his face. But this doesn’t make the old couple villains. You are under no obligation to give up something you rightfully earned to a crying child. Especially to a crying child. Had they given him the ball just to get him to stop being a brat, they would have been rewarding a negative behavior and sending a bad message to this kid and all youngsters in the audience. Yes, it would have been very nice if they had voluntarily offered him the ball, but it is not a requirement. What if they have kids or grandkids of their own to whom they would give the ball? Maybe they just wanted the ball as a keepsake to their evening. And when this kid grows up and takes his own kid to a game is he going to tell him that he got a ball by crying like a baby until someone pitied him.