Pirates rookie’s moment stolen by bizarre sequence of events as media stirs the pot

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Cam Devanney made his long-awaited Major League debut over the weekend and recorded his first MLB hit on Wednesday. But what should have been a moment to celebrate for the rookie turned into a moment of controversy.

When Devanney's first hit dropped into left field for a single off of Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Emmet Sheehan, the Pirates' dugout immediately asked for the ball (as is customary when a player records a milestone like a first Major League hit). But when the umpire threw Sheehan a fresh ball, the pitcher kept the hit ball and threw back the new one – sparking outrage among eagle-eyed fans who spotted the exchange.

Video footage did appear to confirm the ball switch. But what would have (and still should be) chalked up to a harmless accident due to a simple misunderstanding quickly devolved into controversy as members of the media – namely, Ben Verlander – stirred the pot online with allegations that Sheehan had knowingly made the switch to deliberately rob Devanney of his special keepsake.

Naturally, the Dodgers pitcher making a spot start for Shohei Ohtani must have some sort of beef with the 28-year-old Pirates rookie no one had ever heard of before that day; it's the only logical explanation!)

Pirates rookie Can Devanney’s moment stolen by bizarre sequence of events as media stirs the pot

There's nothing like a good, fabricated controversy to get the internet riled up. Hundreds of X users (and even a former MLB player) began to pile on, labeling Sheehan as a "scumbag," among other things, for what was being derided as a classless, unsportsmanlike move.

After the game – which the Pirates won 3-0 – Dodgers team reporter Kirsten Watson cleared up any misunderstanding and said after speaking with Sheehan that the switch was not intentional. According to Watson's post on X, Sheehan "didn't realize that the ball was being called for and shared that he would personally apologize" to Devanney for the mix-up.

Of course, the measured, logical explanation of what happened is far less exciting than the dramatic conspiracy theory, so it failed to satisfy the hundreds of fans online who chose to believe that this was an unmitigated act of cruelty on Sheehan's part.

In all likelihood, Sheehan just mixed the two balls up or changed his mind and decided he liked the old ball better than the new one. But if the internet wants to believe that he was so salty about giving up a hit that he withheld the ball from a rookie, then so be it. Either way, Devanney still got his first big league hit and the Pirates still got the last laugh with a shutout victory.