An 8-year-old Dodgers fan took a foul ball to the face in a scary moment during Friday’s game against the Reds at Dodger Stadium.
The incident occurred in the fourth inning when Mookie Betts sent a screamer into the stands that struck Nathan Sanchez in the right eye, the family told KTLA.
The Sanchez family had been sitting in between first base and home plate about midway up the section.
The ball struck the young Dodgers fan and went into the crowd.
“As soon as the ball hits him, all I hear is, ‘My eye!’” Daisy Sanchez, Nathan’s mother, told the TV station.
There had been a doctor sitting nearby who immediately attended to Nathan and stadium security and medical personnel arrived moments later.
The 8-year-old told the station that he had cried and was stunned by the injury, but was cleared to return to the game after he was checked out.
The family had been hoping to catch a foul ball when they went to the game and Nathan had brought his glove with him.
A fellow spectator had snatched up the foul ball that struck the boy and returned it to the family, which surprised the Sanchez family, but they were disappointed about the lack of communication from the Dodgers following the incident.
Nathan had received some stickers and a button, but they would have like to have gotten the ball signed.
“We just want our ball signed, the ball that hit him. At least a signature, you know?” the family said.
The Dodgers have not commented on the matter and MLB has taken steps to try and limit the risk of foul balls to fans, which included extending the protective netting behind home plate.
An NBC News report found that there had been at least 808 reports of injuries to fans due to baseballs from 2012 to 2019.
