Kevin McGonigle's robbed first career HR featured Padres fan eating it

Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle had his coming out party in San Diego over the weekend, but he was robbed of his first big league home run by Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill on Friday. A fan behind Merrill completely ate it trying to make the catch, which at least added some levity to the disappointment.

You can see the video below as the fan tries to get into position to catch the home run ball, but completely falls down after Merrill secures it:

McGonigle homer robbery stings less thanks to fan eating it

It was a rough moment for that fan, but thankfully it seems nothing other than his pride was bruised on the play.

As for McGonigle, he has to be wishing he had hit it just a few feet further, but the 21-year-old can't get too greedy. He tore the cover off the ball against the Padres. He already has five hits in his first 12 at-bats, including two doubles, and he has driven in four runs.

Merrill even gave a tip of the cap to McGonigle later in the game. The 2024 All-Star reached second base and McGonigle seemed to say, "Nice catch," or something to that effect. Merrill thanked him while also teasingly saying, "You got four [hits] yesterday." The rookie shortstop is clearly earning the respect of his peers early on.

He was a huge reason why the Tigers won their first series of the season, making the team look awfully smart for calling him up to begin the year.

It's obviously still early and a lot can change, but it certainly seems like McGonigle is setting himself up on an All-Star trajectory. The 10-pitch at-bat he had the other night shows that this is not your typical rookie. This is a guy who already looks like a veteran up at the plate. Odds are that he's only going to get better the more experience he gets.

American League Rookie of the Year honors are also very much a possibility, and he's already an early favorite. If he does win Rookie of the Year, the Tigers will be the beneficiary of an extra draft pick courtesy of MLB's PIP program, which incentivizes teams to promote prospects at the start of a season.

While McGonigle has to be a little ticked he didn't get his first career homer in San Diego, there is a good chance he will leave yard in the team's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Chase Field is a very hitter-friendly park, so there's a chance that McGonigle's fiirst career homer could even land in the pool out in right-center.

He just has to hope a notorious D-backs fan who has stolen several home runs over the years doesn't make an appearance.