A bizarre moment in a baseball game saw a player taken out of the contest with an injury after a fan hit him with a ball thrown from the stands.
During a Baltimore Orioles baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto outfielder Jesus Sanchez was injured in the bottom of the sixth inning.
With the Orioles up 6-0 and having two runners on, Sanchez appeared to make some motion to the crowd – but it’s not clear if it was a wave or a different kind of signal.
Regardless of what Sanchez did, it prompted a fan to throw a baseball from the stands at him – hitting the outfielder in his right hand and wrist area.
Sanchez expressed shock by the action before beginning to favor his hand and wrist.
The Blue Jays later released an update saying the outfielder left the game due to a ‘right wrist contusion,’ adding that X-rays came back negative for a fracture.
Blue Jays outfielder Jesus Sanchez left a game early after being hit by a ball thrown by a fan
Sanchez had his back turned when he was hit by the ball in his hand, leading to his exit
Sanchez was diagnosed with a contusion in his hand and wrist, but didn’t break his hand
Baltimore Sun reporter Jacob Meyer reported that a young fan saw Sanchez flapping his glove and thought the star was signalling to the fan to play catch, leading to the throw.
The young fan was then kicked out of the game, with both Sanchez and Schneider calling the incident a misunderstanding.
‘It was a misunderstanding. I wasn’t trying to play catch right there,’ Sanchez told reporters after the game.
Schneider said, ‘He was kinda talking with a, I think it was a 12-year-old kid… kinda going back-and-forth I think in a playful manner. Like almost like “hey, let’s play catch,” and I think that the kid took it literally.’
The manager added, ‘Not ideal, first time I’ve seen that… Balls shouldn’t be coming into the field of play.’
The Blue Jays lost the game 9-5 to split the road series to Baltimore. At the time he was pulled, Sanchez had one hit in two at-bats. His replacement, Yohendrick Pinango, drove in three runs on two hits in two plate appearances.
