A fan was hit in the face by a foul ball and taken to a hospital during Tuesday night’s Tigers–White Sox game in Chicago.
A White Sox spokesperson said the middle-aged male fan was transported to Rush University Medical Center for treatment.
The man was sitting in the first row on the first base side at Guaranteed Rate Field — well beyond where the netting extends to the end of the camera box past the dugout– when he was struck by Jeimer Candelario‘s foul leading off the Tigers ninth.
The game was held up for a couple minutes while the man, who was bleeding profusely, was treated at his seat. He eventually walked away under his own power, escorted by stadium personnel.
“I was scared and I hope everything is good for him,” Candelario said after Detroit’s 8-3 win. “I think he tried to turn away from and it just moved back and the ball hit him.”
“I don’t know what part of the face it hit. It’s sad,” he said.
Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire didn’t see the impact, but said he saw Candelario’s foul ball “hook and then I heard everybody yell.”
“That’s the scary part of the game,” Gardenhire said. “This is very fast game and they hit the ball very hard. That’s the worst feeling in the world when you’re sitting in that dugout and see a line drive go into the stands.”
“I think it hit a gentleman and hopefully he’s OK. I know it got him pretty good from what they said,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.