Dad Talks About Daughter's Ball Toss

"Good Day Philadelphia" spoke Wednesday morning to the dad who made a nice grab on a foul ball at the Phillies game only to watch his daughter toss it back.

During Tuesday night's game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park, Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth was up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning and fouled a ball back a little toward the third-base side.

Seated in the first row of the 300 level were Steve Monforto, his wife, Kathleen, and daughters, Emily and Cecilia.

The father of two from Laurel Springs, N.J., quickly leaned over the glass, put his hands down and made what Fox 29's Mike Jerrick later told him was "a tremendous catch."

After exchanging some fist bumps with nearby fans, Monforto high-fived 3-year-old Emily and handed the ball to to the young girl, dressed in her pink T-shirt and Phillies cap.

What happened next made everyone gasp: a standing Emily chucked the ball right back down from the seats.

The father's jaw immediately dropped, and his hands went up in the air. But as his young daughter turned to him, he found a smile, took the girl into his arms and kissed her, comforting her.

"See, when she first threw it over, you know, I kind of laughed and was like, 'Oh my gosh, there it goes.' But then the look on her face was that she may have done something wrong, so I wanted to let her know that ... she didn't do anything wrong," Monforto said.

He also described a kind gesture by the Philles organization after the loss of his foul ball.

"One of the Phillies representatives the next inning came up with a brand new ball. I don't think it was the ball that she threw down, but they came up with another ball," Monforto said.

He denied he plays baseball, saying, "No, that was a lucky catch, that I didn't drop that."

But he said he does play catch with Emily in the backyard and the living room "to the chagrin of my wife."

The video clip has been playing on TV networks nationwide ever since. And the reaction from friends has been amusing, in particular remarks about the Phillies' late-inning pitching troubles.

"I've gotten a couple of texts about whether Emily's available to close or not," Monforto said.