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There are plenty of people who believe no self-respecting adult should ever head to a professional baseball game with a glove in tow, but we were treated to a very compelling counterargument on Monday courtesy of a fan who was put to sleep by a home run ball when the Rays hosted the Twins.
Every person who attends a Major League Baseball game in person does so knowing they need to keep their head on a swivel thanks to the balls that make their way into the stand on a fairly regular basis.
The MLB has slowly but surely adopted new rules that have resulted in protective netting covering a larger percentage of ballparks to mitigate the potential danger of foul balls (minor league clubs will have to cover the entirety of the foul line by the time the 2025 season starts), but there are still plenty of scenarios where things can take a turn for the worse if you’re not careful.
That brings us to what unfolded when the Twins faced off against the Rays at Tropicana Field on Labor Day—a contest that produced a scary blink-and-you-miss-it moment thanks to a fan who ended up directly in the line of fire.
Minnesota was down by a run with guys on first and second in the top of the second inning when it got a momentum shift courtesy of Trevor Larnach, who took full advantage of an 86 MPH slider Zack Littell threw down the heart of the plate by sending it 368 feet into the stands in left field to give the Twins a 4-2 lead.
The ball rocketed off the bat at more than 112 MPH while making a beeline for a fan in the front row who tried to make a bare-handed snag but ultimately ended up exhibiting a fencing response after getting drilled in the head and knocked unconscious.
So long, Larnach! pic.twitter.com/zZoxjklk9B
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 2, 2024
A spectator in the vicinity captured other fans summoning for medical assistance in the immediate wake of the incident, but according to Twins beat writer Do-Hyoung Park, the man wasn’t seriously injured and eventually got Larnach to sign the offending ball during a meet-and-greet where the outfielder also gave him a bat.