Young girl is struck by foul ball hit by Cubs’ Albert Almora Jr.
A young girl was taken to the hospital after being struck by a foul ball Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston, the Astros said in a statement.
“We are unable to disclose any further details at this time,” the team stated. “The Astros send our thoughts and prayers to the entire family.”
Chicago Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. hit the line-drive foul ball down the third-base line. He was extremely emotional when he realized the ball had struck the girl — “As soon as I hit it, the first person I locked eyes on was her,” he said after the game — and needed several minutes to compose himself.
“Albert is an emotional young man with children, so that made it even more real to him,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after the game. “I understood exactly what he was going through right there.”
A man who was with the girl immediately carried her upstairs from their field-level seats. She appeared to be conscious and crying at the time.
“Right now I’m just praying and I’m speechless,” said Almora, who still appeared to be on the verge of tears after the game. “I’m at loss of words. Being a father, two boys, but God willing I’ll be able to have a relationship with this little girl for the rest of my life. But just prayers right now, and that’s all I really can control.”
Between innings, the distressed Almora buried his face in the shoulder of a security guard as she embraced him near the area where the child was sitting. Maddon said he had been prepared to remove Almora from the game at that time, but the player told him he would continue playing.
All 30 Major League Baseball teams expanded the protective netting at their stadiums to at least the far ends of the dugouts by the start of the 2018 season, following several injuries caused by foul balls the previous season.
But fans are still getting injured, and sometimes worse, by foul balls. Linda Goldblum, a 79-year-old Dodgers fan, died Aug. 29 of a cranial hemorrhage, four days after being hit in the head by a foul ball during a game at Dodger Stadium.
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Calls for even more expansion of the netting have already started following this latest incident.
“Right now, obviously, I want to put a net around the whole stadium,” Almora said after the game.
Teammate Kris Bryant said: “There’s a lot of kids coming to the games — young kids who want to watch us play, and the balls come in hard. I mean, the speed of the game is quick, and I think any safety measure we can take to, you know, make sure that the fans are safe, we should do it.”
An MLB spokesperson told TMZ: “Clubs have significantly expanded netting and their inventory of protected seats in recent years. With last night’s event in mind, we will continue our efforts on this important issue.”
Twitter: @chewkiii
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