The Miami Marlins/Oakland Athletics was halted for ten minutes as medical personnel attended to two fans who were injured when Oakland 2nd baseman, Nick Punto‘s line drive struck them both in the face. The ball struck the young woman first and then hit a man sitting nearby, according to the Miami AP:
The woman was conscious when she was placed in a wheelchair on the field and taken along the warning track to an exit in the right-field corner. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation, the Marlins said. The man received treatment at the ballpark and was released.
Miami manager, Mike Redmond explained how the witnessed the incident:
”Marlins Park was a dangerous place today, I saw the girl get hit square on. She had no idea it was coming. I think she just turned at the last second.”
It’s always very scary when baseballs and bat fragments go flying, but especially worrisome when fans are injured. The MLB would be wise to invest in ideas to add protection to their spectators, similarly to what the National Hockey League did several years ago when they faced these issues. They installed mesh netting all around the playing area. The netting is a fine white shade so as not to impede view.
This time hopefully, it looks as though the fans will be okay, next time the MLB may not be so lucky.
[h/t Yahoo Sports]