Orioles new owner shines with classy gesture towards young, opposing fan

What do you get when you cross a young Minnesota Twins fan, new Orioles owner David Rubenstein, Twins centerfielder Byron Buxton, and a supposed "fan" who takes autographed balls from little kids?

A feel-good story that shows the empathy, kindness, and human connection the Orioles' new owner will have towards all visitors to Oriole Park, be they Orioles fans or fans of the opposing team.

David Rubenstein has been the Orioles' majority owner for less than one month. But during this past week's three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards, Rubenstein went out of his way to give an eight-year-old Twins fan the "best day ever."

The fan, eight-year-old Camden Cleveland, resides in Annapolis with his mother and father. His father is a member of the US Coast Guard and moved from Wisconsin to Maryland in 2011. While the boy's father has passed on his Twins fanship to his son, the Clevelands love Camden Yards so much that they named their first born son Camden.

The younger Cleveland is not only a Twins fan, but a big fan of Twins star centerfielder Byron Buxton. When father and son went to the Twins vs. Orioles game on Tuesday night, Camden caught Buxton's attention and got an usher to sign a baseball for him. However, as the usher was giving the signed ball back to the young fan, another "fan" at the game snatched the ball and took off, leaving Camden without the souvenir he wanted so badly. Young Camden was devastated.

Word spread quickly about Tuesday night's incident. Upon learning of the incident, new Orioles owner David Rubenstein invited Camden and his father back for Wednesday's matinee against the Twins. Not only did Camden and his father return for the series finale, but they got to sit in Rubenstein's personal seats: front row, to the right of home plate. The Orioles also provided Camden with a bag of Orioles memorabilia.

Orioles' Owner David Rubinstein invited eight-year-old Camden Cleveland and his dad to sit in the owner's seats the day after a fan snatched Camden's signed baseball away.

For his part, Buxton was all class, gifting Camden a signed ball, bat, and batting gloves. "I felt the need to do a little bit more to try to brighten up his day," Buxton said.

David Rubinstein has said all the right things since news broke that he would be taking over as majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles. Less than one month into his tenure, he is now doing all the right things, too. While Orioles fans have applauded Rubenstein's arrival in Baltimore, this story ingratiates Rubenstein with the baseball world as a whole.

Not to mention an eight-year-old boy named Camden, whose week went from tearfully sad to blissfully joyful due to the kindness of the Twins centerfielder and the Orioles' rockstar new owner.