On Monday night, Reed Weiner was standing in left-center field at Citizens Bank Park when the Cardinals\u2019 Jordan Walker hit a pop-up to center.<\/p>\n
It was the first round of the Home Run Derby, and Weiner and his friend, Ashton Kaliner, were shagging baseballs.<\/p>\n
Weiner started running and stuck his glove out, but didn\u2019t catch it. He received a hearty round of boos from the Philadelphia crowd.<\/p>\n
\u00bb READ MORE: Schwarbombs, boos and a walkoff: A 3D look at how Jordan Walker ruined a near storybook Home Run Derby for Phillies fans<\/a><\/p>\n Weiner\u2019s misplay, and the ensuing reaction, quickly went viral on social media. Within 20 minutes, he started to receive a flood of text messages.<\/p>\n Family members and friends saw the video on Jomboy, Barstool, Bleacher Report, and House of Highlights. Some pointed to it as evidence of Philadelphia\u2019s cruelty.<\/p>\n The 17-year-old from Lower Merion<\/a>, who recently graduated from Harriton High School, had a different take.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved that,\u201d he said of the boos. \u201cI think it\u2019s an honor, to be honest. Like, when I go to Phillies games, I love that stuff. I\u2019ll boo everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Weiner said that was the only catch he missed all night. He is not much of a baseball player; the teenager briefly joined Lower Merion Little League, but hasn\u2019t roamed an outfield since.<\/p>\n He found out he\u2019d be shagging baseballs on Saturday. Kaliner\u2019s father works for the Phillies, and was able to pull some strings.<\/p>\n The teenager said most of the \u201ckids\u201d participating were 15 and 16 years old. He and Kaliner were on the older side, but still had a great time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was awesome,\u201d Weiner said. \u201cIt was electric. All the fans were asking for baseballs. They were screaming at us, offering money. It was everything I imagined it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n The teenager chalked up the fateful moment to a faulty read. Weiner saw the pop-up going to center, and started jogging in that direction. \u201cI was pretty confident I was going to get there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Kyle Schwarber and his pitcher, Rafael Pe\u00f1a, did a \u2018practice\u2019 run in Detroit. It set the stage for an epic Home Run Derby.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBut at the very last second, the ball kept traveling,\u201d Weiner added. \u201cAnd it happened again later in the night. The ball goes so much farther than how you see it. And I kind of lost it in the light.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw it, and then it kept going, so by the time it kept going, I was like, \u2018Damn.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Before long, Weiner became an internet celebrity. His brother, Wyatt, and dozens of friends from school sent him the clip. <\/p>\n His parents saw it, too. They had slightly mixed reactions.<\/p>\n \u201cThey loved it,\u201d Weiner said. \u201cThey loved it. My dad was like, \u2018Oh my god, you\u2019re famous, this is awesome.\u2019 <\/p>\n \u201cMy mom is not a Phillies fan. She\u2019s a Mets fan. And she was like, \u2018I hate those Philly fans.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n When Weiner and Kaliner weren\u2019t shagging, they were booing non-Phillies relentlessly, along with their Citizens Bank Park counterparts.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Phillies fans provided a \u2018home field\u2019 advantage with their boos at Home Run Derby<\/a><\/p>\n