Horrible: Fan suffers serious injuries at Fenway

[AngelsSurfer]

Saw that this hadn't been posted yet. A fan at Fenway Park was hit by a broken bat at the Red Sox-A's game today. Apparently she was hit in the head and has life-threatening injuries. All best wishes to her.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/fan-injured-fenway-park-hit-broken-bat-31567548

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/06/05/fan-injured-broken-bat-taken-out-stretcher-fenway/Ie9sz929jciWL4Ez7YqOoK/story.html

 

 

[ten ocho recon scout]

Damn. People get hit a lot and im sure they suffer somewhat serious injuries, but have never heard of anything life threatening

[Kenny]

It was basically the entire bat that hit her. All that's left in Lawrie's hand is the knob and part of the handle.

[laagamer]

She had a young boy with her. 

 

That's terrible. 

 

Wish her the best. 

[gotbeer]

Discount buyers don't face such perils. Ever caught a foul ball in the 3rd deck? It's like catching a croissant.

 

This days been coming. Get ready for nets to extend past the dugouts. 

 

Yup.  This might be the MLB's NHL moment.  After a fan died by getting hit by a puck, that's when they put up the nets.  You might have the same thing done down the lines like at some minor league parks.  I'm just surprised more people aren't nailed and seriously hurt by line drive foul balls.  

[Angel Oracle]

Prayers go out for her recovery.

This also may me think back to when Steve Yeager had a broken bat hit him around the neck in the on deck circle in the mid 1970s, which ultimately led to the neck protection being worn by catchers.

[mp170.6]

That's an awful injury. 

 

But leave it to the Boston cops to be as self-aggrandizing as possible.  Close off a huge area, then bust out the detectives with their evidence bags.  Wouldn't want to disturb potential fingerprints or DNA.  I sure hope they solve this one!

 

[JAHV76]

I hope she has a full recovery

Edited June 6, 2015 by JAHV76

[Jason]

Holy cow! This is a terrible story

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Prayers to her and her family.

[hen3ry]

That's an awful injury. 

 

But leave it to the Boston cops to be as self-aggrandizing as possible.  Close off a huge area, then bust out the detectives with their evidence bags.  Wouldn't want to disturb potential fingerprints or DNA.  I sure hope they solve this one!

 

I'm gonna give the Boston boys in blue a bit of a pass here.  They're not solving a crime, they're collecting the evidence for the massive lawsuit that is to follow.  

 

The fact is, there are 2430 major league games every year, not counting exhibition and post season games.  And I can't remember the last time someone suffered a serious injury due to a flying ball or bat at the ballpark.  I'm sure it must have at some point, because that's why we have the existing netting behind home plate everywhere.

 

The reason it's rare for _players_ to be hurt this way is because of the lack of crowding on the field - same reason it's rare for a baserunner to be out for being struck by a batted ball - the angle has to be _perfect_ to hit them.  But the stands, especially in the good seats near the bases at field level, are usually densely packed.  Anything that goes in that direction has a decent chance to strike someone, in the head, neck, or upper chest.  

[mp170.6]

I'm gonna give the Boston boys in blue a bit of a pass here.  They're not solving a crime, they're collecting the evidence for the massive lawsuit that is to follow.  

 

The job of law enforcement is not to collect evidence for potential civil suits. 

[AngelsSurfer]

Some of the articles on this have mentioned that there's only been one documented death from being hit with a ball/bat in the stands, and that happened back in 1970. I would be very surprised if others didn't walk away with concussions, broken noses, etc. I remember there was that incident last season at a Bees road game where a kid got hit with a bat that flew out of Bosch's hands, and it looked like a pretty nasty injury. In the stands there's so little time to react and there are so few places to move out of the way.

 

So IMHO extending the nets is a good idea.

[ukyah]

it would make more sense to disallow some of the bats that are currently legal, than to put up nets. soft wood, like ash, and thin necks make for a bad situation.

Edited June 6, 2015 by ukyah

[ukyah]

I'm gonna give the Boston boys in blue a bit of a pass here.  They're not solving a crime, they're collecting the evidence for the massive lawsuit that is to follow.  

 

The fact is, there are 2430 major league games every year, not counting exhibition and post season games.  And I can't remember the last time someone suffered a serious injury due to a flying ball or bat at the ballpark.  I'm sure it must have at some point, because that's why we have the existing netting behind home plate everywhere.

 

The reason it's rare for _players_ to be hurt this way is because of the lack of crowding on the field - same reason it's rare for a baserunner to be out for being struck by a batted ball - the angle has to be _perfect_ to hit them.  But the stands, especially in the good seats near the bases at field level, are usually densely packed.  Anything that goes in that direction has a decent chance to strike someone, in the head, neck, or upper chest.  

 

 

if their's a lawsuit it won't be for being hit by the bat. that is covered on the ticket waiver, which you agree to upon purchase. if i was a lawyer, i'd go after willful negligence. specifically, there's hours of tape from countless games where announcers, etc. are talking about how dangerous these bats are and how "someone is going to get hurt one of these days". use evidence like that to make your case that mlb should have known there was a risk greater than necessary and what natural risk would be covered by the ticket waiver.

[gurn67]

Netting will be coming soon. Not that I support it, but it's a sign of the times. People bitched about it at first in the NHL, and then adjusted to it once they realized it was there to stay.

[ELEVEN]

When my nephews were little we would go to the local minor league games, and they always wanted to sit right up by the Quakes dugout. Usually in the front row. I always insisted on sitting between the batter and the kids so I could watch out for them while their attentions went elsewhere. For the most part they paid attention tothe risk, but things happen sometimes. It drives me nuts to see kids unattended that close.

[ScottT]

It is a bit surprising that seemingly so few people have been seriously injured at baseball games.  Many don't pay attention even if they are near the dugout.  The worst is when someone does get hit and people turn and stand to see what happened... when play hasn't stopped.

 

I don't think nets around the field are necessary.  I do think if you are behind a net and not hanging on it, you should be able to expect not to be hit.  That happened recently. The most I see MLB doing is putting short nets up above the dugouts like they've had in Rancho Cucamonga... not sure if they still do.  Don't really see that happening either... even if it did, those things are really short.  Many bats and balls clear them.  This is terrible, but it is rare.  

[sneaky_flute]

Man, she must have sustained some serious blunt force trauma. I saw the photos and the injury didn't look too bad. 

[disarcina]

terrible incident.

 

later reports indicated she was not doing well and sustained life- threatening injuries.

 

jagged edge of a broken bat -- tough to prevent -- but YES, expect netting all over the place now.

 

the story link mentioned an incident several years back when a kid was killed by a flying puck into the stands during an NHL game -- I always thought that was scary -- NHL has heightened the glass these days but a flying puck is literally a line drive to the head with a flying disc that picks up speed......OUCH -- a fan has no chance there.

 

this jagged bat edge must have hit the fan just right (or wrong, as the case may be).  Sad situation.

[fan_since79]

Man, she must have sustained some serious blunt force trauma. I saw the photos and the injury didn't look too bad. 

 

The injury was to her forehead and she lost a lot of blood.

 

The latest news is good. She is expected to survive.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/05/us/boston-fan-struck-by-bat/

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I just hope that there is no long term brain damage.

[gotbeer]

The inevitable argument against putting up more nets is that it will distract from the viewing.  And yet the most expensive seats have a net in front of them.  

[mancini79]

The inevitable argument against putting up more nets is that it will distract from the viewing.  And yet the most expensive seats have a net in front of them.  

 

Can't wait for the OCR to spin this to "Arte doesn't care about the rich fans".

[AngelsSurfer]

I just hope that there is no long term brain damage.

 

Same here. Head injuries can be so horrific. I know it's said that most -- not all, but most-- head injuries that are severe manifest within 12-24 hours, and she's past that now, so perhaps that is encouraging.

 

I was a bit freaked out when I read the above article, because the victim has the same name as a friend I lost touch with years ago. Luckily another article had photos from social media. and it's not the person I know.