Everett Is Struck in Head by Phone

Texas right fielder Carl Everett was hit in the back of the head with a cell phone thrown by a fan in the Rangers’ 12-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.

The male fan was arrested, according to A’s spokesman Jim Young, and Everett said he planned to press charges. Everett was discussing it with an Oakland police officer after the game in the clubhouse.

“Luckily I was wearing a hat,” Everett said. “If it wasn’t for the hat, I’d be cut back there. That fan should be ashamed of himself.”

Everett was hit four days after umpire Laz Diaz was attacked by a fan at U.S. Cellular field in Chicago during a White Sox-Royals game.

“This is always happening in Major League Baseball and maybe now they’ll do something about it,” Everett said. “I’m going to be pressing charges. Fans pointed him out and they arrested him. It’s just ignorance and alcohol and probably too much of both. That’s what causes this.”

An officer answering at the Oakland Police Department patrol desk said he had no information on the arrest.

Everett complained to umpires before the start of the sixth inning that he had been hit.

“I tossed it over the fence,” Everett said of the phone. “We are all going to be heckled in this game. That’s part of it. But it’s wrong to throw stuff.”

Security was beefed up in the area, and Oakland’s Terrence Long picked something up and threw it back into the stands when he got out there in the sixth.

“We have great fans here and there’s no room for fans to throw things on the field,” A’s Manager Ken Macha said.