The worst baseball fan in America is this outrageous Phillies Karen

Okay, maybe worst is an exaggeration; we did just see a New York Yankees fan try to separate Mookie Betts' arm from his body during the World Series last year. But if you had to come up with two cardinal rules for being an adult fan at a Major League Baseball game, they would probably be 1) never put your hands on a player or interfere with the game and 2) never, ever deprive a child of the opportunity to take home a foul ball.

Really, those should both be self-explanatory. And yet apparently some of us need a refresher on the latter, based on this ridiculous incident from Friday night's game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins.

Harris Bader fouled one off in the top of the fourth inning that found its way into the stands, where it landed a row in front of a woman in a Phillies jersey. But while she had the best shot at it, she wasn't able to maneuver quickly enough, and in a matter of seconds another man in Phillies gear had come swooping in from out of screen to poach it from her.

At this point, you can understand why this woman might be a bit upset: She was clearly the closest one to the ball, and the man in question did come in there pretty forcefully and snatch it from her grasp. If that were the entire story, he would certainly be the villain; no one needs a souvenir that badly, after all.

But that was not the entire story — far from it. As it turns out, the man was showing so much urgency because he had his son with him at the game, and he promptly handed the ball to the kid once he got back to their seats. Sure, a bit aggressive, but 1) she never actually had the ball in her hands and 2) you do what you have to do to do something nice for your son, right?

... wrong.

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New rule: An adult should never, under any circumstances, take a foul ball from a kid

Most of us would take a breath, realize that, as mature adults, we do not actually need to take home a trinket from a baseball game, and smile at the kid's good fortune, content in the knowledge that he was now one step further down the path of becoming a fan for life.

The woman in question, however, did not choose option A. Instead, she sprinted over to the man who she felt had wronged her and immediately got up into his face — all while the kid who just wanted to enjoy his souvenir was watching from inches away. The dad clearly didn't want to deprive his son, but he also didn't know how to get this lady to stop screaming at him and his family, and so the loudest person in the room won and the literal child was forced to give the ball back.

Really, what are we doing here? Even if you want to be very charitable — maybe the woman had a kid of her own at home, or a niece or nephew, who she wanted to give the ball to — there's simply no reason to be acting this way in public. So you didn't get what you wanted: I do genuinely feel for you, but at a certain point, how do you as an adult realize that creating a scene is only going to make things worse? Why is this a way that you're comfortable speaking to a total stranger, much less a child?

Luckily, decency prevailed, as Bader was there to welcome the young fan into the locker room and reward him with a signed bat.

Hopefully this can be a learning experience, and we all can learn to deal with hardship with a little more maturity in the future. But seriously, folks: Just let the kids have the ball.