Thursday, October 30, 2008

Be Careful Out There

The Rays offense in games 1-4 left a lot to be desired, but it's not like they didn't hit something:

On Sunday, Fante, her son, Jarrett, and several members of her family headed to Citizens Bank Park early to pick up some souvenirs and catch the end of batting practice.

As she nestled into her seat in right-center field to watch her son, brothers and nephews shag home run balls during batting practice, the Westampton resident's dream night at the ballpark turned into a nightmare.

“I was watching my brother, Jeff, chase down a ball and all of the sudden I got hit,” Fante said. “At first I thought, did I just get hit by a ball? I saw stars, felt the most intense pain and thought I was going to pass out.”

Fante had been struck directly in the face by a home run ball hit by an identified
Tampa Bay Rays player.
This isn't funny of course. She broke several bones in her face and will likely have to have surgery. This was someone sitting in the outfield, mind you. I have no idea how more people along the lines don't get taken out in ambulances.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Easy. Watch the game.

Alex Brissette said...

Some friends of mine (guy and girl, dating at the time) once went to a minor league game and sat along the 1st base line. The guy sat nearest to the plate with a glove in hand in case any foul balls came their way. Then, at some point, the PA announcer called on a random seat as a prize winner, and whattaya know -- it was the guy's seat! So he gets up to claim his prize, and while he's gone -whack!- she gets a foul ball in the face. I don't think she broke any bones, but there was lots of blood. True story.