April 28--A fan was hospitalized Monday night after being struck by a bat that flew out of the hands of Chicago Cubs rookie Addison Russell in the seventh inning at Wrigley Field.
The fan was sitting several rows behind the Cubs' on-deck circle as Russell swung at and missed a pitch from Pittsburgh reliever Rob Scahill.
Crane Kenney, the Cubs' president of business operations, left his seat to grab towels from the dugout to assist the fan. Chairman Tom Ricketts was one of several spectators who tried to help the victim before medical workers arrived.
In a statement, the Cubs said the patient was transported to first aid, then transferred to an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital.
The Cubs said the patient was conscious and communicated with staff while being transported from the stands, adding that they would remain in communication with his family to keep updated on his progress.
"When the bat was in midflight, my mind was screaming, 'Watch out, watch out,'" said Russell, who hopes to give the victim an autographed bat. "I saw the kid's glasses fly, and it wasn't pretty. I feel very bad."
Russell lost the grip on a swing last week against the Pirates at PNC Park and his bat landed toward in the stands near the end of the Pirates' third-base dugout.
"It's awful," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "What I see is that I never want my kids sitting unprotected, even though it's a good seat."
Maddon has bad memories of an incident in 1976 while catching for Class-A Quad Cities when he saw a father sitting with his son just to the left of the backstop on a hot day. A foul ball struck the kid in the face, and "that always dented my mind," Maddon said.
"It's awful, but when you come to the game, please pay attention. It's a crazy game, things fly in the stands and it's awful. But we all know it can happen."
.png?w=600)
