Sorry mom!

[OregonStrosFan]

Wow... LINK

Twins outfielder Denard Span.. was leading off the game against the Yankees' Phil Hughes when he fouled a 3-2 pitch directly to the left of the visitors' third-base dugout, where a group of friends and family members were settling in for the game.  The ball struck his mother, who was sitting three rows from the field and wearing a Twins jersey with Span's name on it, with a thud that was audible to the players on the Minnesota bench. Span immediately dashed into the seating bowl, consoling her as help arrived.

[Ron Brand]

Reminds me of the story about Bob Feller pitching when Marv Owen smacked a liner off of Feller's mother's head on Mother's Day in 1939. She took six stitches and had to be hospitalized. You can see a scan of the newspaper article here, which is kinda cool.

[Limey]

[Oldschool]  Who's Bob Feller? [/Oldschool]

[TheWizard]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2010/news/story?id=5047817

The odds that a ball off Span's bat would hit his own mother are slim. The odds that any fan could be seriously injured are much greater.

Winthrop University professors Robert Gorman and David Weeks have gone back and documented 52 deaths from foul balls hit into the stands -- from Little League to the majors -- in the United States, continuing the research from their book "Death At The Ballpark."

Now, does it make me an evil person that I want to read this "Death at The Ballpark" book? Winthrop is really doing the hard-hitting research.

[Mr. Happy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2010/news/story?id=5047817
Now, does it make me an evil person that I want to read this "Death at The Ballpark" book? Winthrop is really doing the hard-hitting research.

May I politely, or perhaps not so politely, ask what the fuck ever happened to the legal defense "assumption of the risk?" You go to a sporting event where people are swinging clubs at a 5-5.25 oz. object that is capable of going any direction. Pay attention dumbfucks. You must watch the game. The game. Yes, the game. Not the other shit going on. We're going past "no fault" to "everything's your fault." I say poppycock. Deaths are unfortunate, but they happen.

This is still a US phenomenon. Go touring old castles in Europe where the going can be treacherous. There aren't warning signs or wheelchair ramps or none of that stuff. I'm not saying that it isn't a good thing to make things wheelchair accessible, particularly public and new structures. But the pendulum must start swinging back or the trial lawyers will own everything.

[JimR]

May I politely, or perhaps not so politely, ask what the fuck ever happened to the legal defense "assumption of the risk?"

there is no such defense in Texas and has not been for many years.

[Mr. Happy]

there is no such defense in Texas and has not been for many years.

But you must agree that ballparks are inherently dangerous places where incoming 5 oz. missiles are flying about, along with an occasional bat or two. Contributory negligence?

[AtascAstro]

May I politely, or perhaps not so politely, ask what the fuck ever happened to the legal defense "assumption of the risk?" You go to a sporting event where people are swinging clubs at a 5-5.25 oz. object that is capable of going any direction. Pay attention dumbfucks. You must watch the game. The game. Yes, the game. Not the other shit going on. We're going past "no fault" to "everything's your fault." I say poppycock. Deaths are unfortunate, but they happen.

This is still a US phenomenon. Go touring old castles in Europe where the going can be treacherous. There aren't warning signs or wheelchair ramps or none of that stuff. I'm not saying that it isn't a good thing to make things wheelchair accessible, particularly public and new structures. But the pendulum must start swinging back or the trial lawyers will own everything.

European castles don't have 50 ft jumbotrons blasting hummer races and hat games, steam engines pulling oranges, or t-shirt canons.  If they are going to invest dollars in distractions, then they should also take reasonable precautions to safeguard patrons from the perils of therin.

[Limey]

European castles don't have 50 ft jumbotrons blasting hummer races and hat games, steam engines pulling oranges, or t-shirt canons.  If they are going to invest dollars in distractions, then they should also take reasonable precautions to safeguard patrons from the perils of therin.

Not taking sides here at all, but I do just want to point out that baseball hasn't yet become the NBA, so they do still shut down the between-innings brain gum once the game resumes.

[Zac D]

May I politely, or perhaps not so politely, ask what the fuck ever happened to the legal defense "assumption of the risk?" You go to a sporting event where people are swinging clubs at a 5-5.25 oz. object that is capable of going any direction. Pay attention dumbfucks. You must watch the game. The game. Yes, the game. Not the other shit going on. We're going past "no fault" to "everything's your fault." I say poppycock. Deaths are unfortunate, but they happen.

This is still a US phenomenon. Go touring old castles in Europe where the going can be treacherous. There aren't warning signs or wheelchair ramps or none of that stuff. I'm not saying that it isn't a good thing to make things wheelchair accessible, particularly public and new structures. But the pendulum must start swinging back or the trial lawyers will own everything.

Who got sued?

[strosrays]

What's a seating bowl?

[Gizzmonic]

What's a seating bowl?

Uh...a toilet?

[MusicMan]

Uh...a toilet?

No, they closed Shea.

[Mr. Happy]

European castles don't have 50 ft jumbotrons blasting hummer races and hat games, steam engines pulling oranges, or t-shirt canons.  If they are going to invest dollars in distractions, then they should also take reasonable precautions to safeguard patrons from the perils of therin.

You have a point about the constant entertainmentpalooza that baseball at the major college level on up to the Show. Are you suggesting something drastic like extending the netting all through the yard? Some of my biggest memories as a child consist of fighting for foul balls that rocketed into the seats. I still maintain that one must stay vigilant where a 5 oz. missile and the occasional 30 something ounce bat can come a flying your way. When I'm sitting on a baseline and not behid the netting, I ALWAYS bring my glove to protect my family. And I watch the game.

[Wild Dog]

Reminds me of the story about Bob Feller pitching when Marv Owen smacked a liner off of Feller's mother's head on Mother's Day in 1939. She took six stitches and had to be hospitalized. You can see a scan of the newspaper article here, which is kinda cool.

One crazy incident occured when Brady Anderson hit a foul ball into the stands and struck a fan.  As the fan was being removed to get treatment, Anderson hit another foul ball which, you guessed it, hit the guy again.

[JimR]

in Robstown in '97, one of my guys hit three different fans with foul balls during ONE AB.