There are a lot of ways for a baseball player to leave a game with an injury.
Getting hit in the hand by a ball from a fan in the stands is apparently one of those ways, although it’s not a very common one.
Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jesús Sánchez exited Sunday’s 9-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles after he was hit by a ball that came from the stands at Camden Yards. The incident happened in the bottom of the sixth inning with the Blue Jays trailing the Orioles, 6-0.
At first glance, it looked bad. Sánchez was in right field during a mound visit, appeared to be talking to fans beyond the wall, turned away and then got struck in the right wrist area by what appeared to be a baseball.
That led to some understandable confusion on the Peacock broadcast.
“What’re you thinking?” Jim Palmer said. “I’d fingerprint it right now.”
Honestly, that was probably the first reaction for a lot of people watching the video. A ball coming from the stands and hitting an opposing player doesn’t look very good.
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However, closer inspection of the video reveals that there might be some important context here.
Sánchez seemed to raise his glove toward the crowd right before the ball came back toward him. According to Baltimore Sun reporter Jacob Calvin Meyer, several fans in right field described the incident as an accident. They said a young fan, about 13, saw Sánchez flapping his glove as if he wanted to play catch, and the fan threw the ball late after Sánchez had already turned around.
There’s a big difference between a fan maliciously throwing a ball at a player and a kid thinking he just got the coolest opportunity of his life, only for the timing to go horribly wrong.
And this kind of thing has happened before, albeit with much better results.
In 2012, former Tampa Bay Rays infielder Elliot Johnson famously played catch with fans after they invited him on Twitter. It was one of those neat little baseball stories that reminds everyone about how much joy sports can bring to people, even if it’s over a small gesture.
This one, unfortunately, looks to be the bad version of that.
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The Orioles said in a statement that the fan was identified and removed from the ballpark while the club conducts a thorough investigation, which makes sense. Even if this was an accident, the team still has to figure out exactly what happened and make sure Sánchez is OK.
Sánchez left the game after going 1-for-2 at the plate. He was replaced in right field by Yohendrick Piñango.
Fortunately for Sánchez and the Blue Jays, the initial injury update was encouraging: The Blue Jays later announced Sánchez had a bruised right wrist and that precautionary X-rays were negative.
But it is still a pretty good reminder for fans: Even if you think a major leaguer wants to play catch with you, maybe wait until you’re absolutely sure he’s looking.
