"Three or four other grown men went for it" - When 10-year-old Hayden Dorfman became instant Phillies hero after catching Bryce Harper's tossed helmet
It was not something the 10-year-old Phillies fan, Hayden Dorfman, could have anticipated when he went to watch the game with his dad. The young fan from New Jersey left the stadium with a signed helmet of Bryce Harper, which the Phillies star tossed over the protective netting into the stands after he was ejected by a third-base umpire called Angel Hernandez.
In a candid interview, the young fan explained how he initially thought the helmet was going to come straight towards him. But he later realized three or four grown men were going for it. He decided to avoid fighting for it since it would require a lot of muscle work.
"(The helmet) got bounced into the aisle, and then like three or four other grown men went for it, and dad knew he wouldn't get it because he didn't want to tug with three or four grown men" - 10-year-old Phillies fan said.
As the grown-ups started fighting for Bryce Harper's helmet, the 10-year-old Phillies fan stood away to avoid getting hurt.
"I was just backing up because I did not want to get hurt. I did not want to get involved at the time," he added.
The 5th grader, Hayden Dorfman, continued to explain how he finally got hold of his baseball hero's maroon helmet.
"So he just said, 'give it to the kid!' And then that worked!" - Hayden Dorfman
Bryce Harper signed the helmet caught by the young fan, Hayden Dorfman
After Dorfman got hold of the helmet, he and his dad went out to get some food. All of a sudden, they were called back to their seats. Once they reached back, he saw there were around five to six security guards around his seat waiting for them.
"There's like five or six security guards just waiting for us by our seats. They're like, 'Harper wants to sign it!' I gave it to them, and like 10ish minutes later, they came back with it and I was just like, 'Whoa!'"- Dorfman said
The 5th grader brought the helmet to his school the next day, and his friends surrounded him, asking for a plausible explanation. As a part of superstition, Hayden Dorfman said he would be wearing the helmet every time the Phillies stepped on the diamond.