The danger of being hit by a flying object — like a bat or a foul ball — is very real at Major League Baseball games, and on Tuesday an 8-year-old boy was sent to the hospital after getting hit by a line drive off the bat of Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez.
Gomez did what he could to lift the fan’s spirits, and visited the youngster in the hospital on Wednesday.
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The boy’s family requested that his name and medical status remain private, but the Braves said after the game that he was “conscious and talkative.”
The young fan had been sitting behind the first base dugout at Turner Field when he was hit by the liner in the seventh inning. The hit caused an immediate reaction on the field, with Atlanta Braves pitcher Julio Teheran crumbling to the mound with his head in his glove.
Atlanta’s Gerald Laird and Chris Johnson also visited the fan at the hospital after the game and gave the boy a bat signed by the entire team, according to ESPN.
“It’s the least we can do as players,” Johnson said. “He’s a little kid. It was his first game.”
Teheran was visibly shaken by the incident, but went on to pitch a six-hitter, and the Braves downed the Brewers 5-0.
