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Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesus Sanchez had to be taken out of Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles after suffering an injury to his wrist. The reigning American League champions lost to the Orioles by a score of 9-5.
The injury to Jesus Sanchez was caused by a fan throwing a ball, leading MLB fans to effectively call for that fan’s head, likely assuming it was someone who had drank a few too many. In the immediate aftermath, it was reported that the fan in question was removed from the stadium.
“We have identified the fan and removed them from the ballpark while we conduct a thorough investigation,” the Orioles said in a statement.
Just talked with several fans in RF who saw what happened.
They described it as an accident. They said a young fan, about 13, saw Sánchez flapping his glove as if to indicate to play catch. The kid then threw the ball late, after Sánchez turned around.
The fan was kicked out. https://t.co/U4oqvXR7RU
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) May 31, 2026
Blue Jays outfielder Jesus Sanchez had to be taken out of Sunday’s game after he was hit by a ball thrown at him by a 12-year-old
As it turns out, though, the fan was just 12-years-old and thought that Sanchez had invited him to have a catch.
“You can see him in the box, he loves playing the game, he loves having fun,” manager John Schneider told the media after the game.
“So I think that can, kind of, be misunderstood at times. And I’m sure the kid feels bad. I’m assuming there’s no ill intent there. Just yeah, ball coming on the field during the inning, it’s something that shouldn’t happen.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider says Jesus Sanchez told him he was having a “playful” back & forth with a 12-year-old fan & motioned to the fan “almost like, ‘hey, let’s have a catch.’
And I think the kid took it literally and hit Sanch with the ball.”pic.twitter.com/IdBzu2o1Cv
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) May 31, 2026
Sanchez also absolved the young fan, calling the incident a “misunderstanding.”
“It’s just that there was a misunderstanding, a bad confusion,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “Where I raised my glove, they believed that I was asking for the ball. But it was never like that.”
The Blue Jays have an off-day on Monday after playing 17 games in 17 days, giving Sanchez an extra day off before the team has to decide whether or not he needs to be put on the 10-day injured list. This season, the 28-year-old Dominican Republic native is batting .287 with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs.