A fan at the Home Run Derby at Target Field now admits he made up a story that a blast from one of the competitors hit and badly bruised his hand.

On Monday night, Jordan Jacobson, 19, said on his Twitter account that the ball hit by Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton struck his right hand and bounced to someone else. Jacobson, a former lefthanded pitcher for Lakeville North High School, included a photo of his swollen and discolored right hand as evidence, then confirmed the account with the Star Tribune and various other media.

A friend of his who was at the Home Run Derby with him, Adam Alexander, also told the same story to the Star Tribune.

Stanton, having seen Jacobson's story, went on Twitter and promised Jacobson one of his gloves and a ball from the All-Star Game competition.

"My sincere apologies to @Giancarlo818 the @Marlins and everyone else involved suggesting it was the result of an attempt to catch a baseball clearly was not wise," Jacobson wrote Thursday morning on Twitter. "What started as a funny joke between friends quickly got away from me. For that I am disappointed and embarrassed. Please accept my apologies."

Jacobson's father, Jeff Jacobson, said Thursday that his son's hand is that way from a birth defect.

"I think he's learning that social media is not necessarily the venue to use to make fun of situations," the father said.

Paul Walsh