"All-time scumbag move" - Former World Series champ rips Dodgers RHP Emmet Sheehan’s alleged glove switch on Cam Devanney’s first hit ball 

Former World Series champ rips Dodgers RHP Emmet Sheehan’s alleged glove switch on Cam Devanney’s first hit ball
Former World Series champ rips Dodgers RHP Emmet Sheehan’s alleged glove switch on Cam Devanney’s first hit ball (Source: Getty)

Former MLB All-Star and World Series champion Eric Hosmer had quite the choice of words after LA Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan might have kept Cam Devanney's first hit ball to himself and instead given the new ball thrown by the umpire to the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout.

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It's a tradition in baseball that a slugger gets to keep his first hit ball as a souvenir. But it seems Sheehan, either intentionally or unintentionally, may have robbed that ball from Devanney.

The incident happened in the bottom of the second inning at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, when Devanney secured his first big-league hit with a single to left field.

Upon a closer look, a slow-motion clip showed Sheehan receiving a fresh ball from the umpire, reaching into his glove and seemingly holding onto Devanney’s historic ball, rather than tossing it aside and accepting the new one. It appeared he intentionally swapped the balls before delivering his next pitch.

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MLB analyst Ben Verlander shared the video on X/Twitter and wrote:

"It appears Emmet Sheehan just intentionally kept the first MLB hit ball for Cam Devanney. The team asked for the ball. The umpire threw Sheehan a new ball and he clearly switched it in his glove."
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Hosmer took note of the incident and called the alleged move from Sheehan an "all-time s**mbag move."

He wrote on X:

"Pending more information…. Another all-time s**mbag move."
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Emmet Sheehan said it was "unintentional" to keep Cam Devanney's first hit ball

Cam Devanney might never manage to recover his first hit ball since Emmet Sheehan made the transition from one ball to another. Facing backlash online, Sheehan addressed the situation postgame, denying any malicious intent.

"I had no idea. I liked the ball I was throwing with, so I tried to keep it," Sheehan said via SI.com. "And I had no idea that was his first hit. So I'm going to try and find Cam tomorrow and apologize and figure out a way to make it up to him. But yeah, it was completely unintentional."
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Meanwhile, Devanney believes that he got the correct ball:

"I’m not entirely sure what happened. … but I think I did get the right one."

As far as the game is concerned, the Pirates shut down the Dodgers to win 3-0 in the end. After winning the series 2-0, the Pirates will look to clean-sweep the LA club in Game 3 on Thursday.

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Edited by Veer Badani
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