Giant teddy bear slammed with foul ball at baseball game, bounces back with a smile

One of the weirdest ripples of the pandemic, in my opinion, using stand-ins, like cut-outs and stuffed animals, for fans in sports stadiums. The purpose is to give some sense of normalcy to — dare I say it — an "unprecedented" baseball season, but it has also made for some extremely bizarre moments.

Case in point: On Thursday, a foul ball collided with a giant stuffed teddy bear during a game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Oakland A's.

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The incident was courtesy of Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte. Sports fans couldn't help but yuck it up with their "unbearable" puns after the hit.

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Worried fans can rest easy — A's president Dave Kaval assured everyone that the bear will be able to keep the foul ball:

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This teddy is really a metaphor for all of us in 2020: Routinely hit with pain (in the bear's case, a baseball), but having the resilience to pop right back up. Perhaps we're not as jovial as this bear right now, but his persistent grin makes this even more inspirational.

I salute you, bear, and hope the rest of the season brings fewer balls to the face.