A Play-By-Play Guy Had His Laptop Destroyed By A Foul Ball And Handled It Like A Champ

laptop with cracked screen

Getty Image


If you’ve ever taken the time to read the small print on the back of a ticket to a baseball game or have been lucky enough to have good enough seats where there’s a sign warning you to keep your head on a swivel then you should be very aware of the potential dangers of being at the receiving end of a foul ball (a lesson I learned as a kid when I saw a guy five rows in front of me at an Orioles game get hit in the head by one before being escorted from the stands on a stretcher).

However, fans aren’t the only people who have to keep an eye out for a foul ball. If you’ve watched (or listened to) enough baseball games, then you know balls occasionally make their way into the broadcasting booth. This was the case at a recent minor league game between the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp and the Mobile BayBears, where play-by-play broadcaster Roger Hoover had a fantastic reaction after his laptop was destroyed by a foul ball.

Hoover paused for a moment of silence to honor the death of his trusty sidekick but he managed to remain remarkably composed for someone who realized they’d have to drop $1,000 on a new computer.

[protected-iframe id=”e68534a97d6aaeecb32e66d01702e884-97886205-55047561″ info=”https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/467661546&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ scrolling=”no”]

He also shared a picture of the aftermath (as well as his incredibly destructive souvenir).

According to Awful Announcing, Hoover’s screen took the brunt of the damage and he still managed to hook up his computer to an HDMI outlet in order to finish his postgame roundup.

Thoughts and prayers to Hoover during this difficult time.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.