If the first rule of being a ball person or on-field security is to keep the ball rolling, the second rule should be don’t make yourself part of the game.
Someone for the Los Angeles Dodgers failed at the “don’t make yourself part of the game” aspect of the job Monday night, when a Shohei Ohtani double came his way during their game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Stationed near the fence in right field, the person saw a sharp line drive off the bat of Ohtani heading his direction and decided to turn on the jets. With Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos making his way toward the baseball, the person grabbed their chair and strangely sprinted along the warning track onto the field of play.
“That was one of the craziest things I think I’ve ever seen.” pic.twitter.com/geMVU8Wv6Z
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 6, 2024
“That was one of the craziest things I think I’ve ever seen,” Phillies analyst Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “The guy down the right field line, the security guard/ball boy just started springing along the wall. Why didn’t he just watch where it was gonna bounce and stay right where it was? Is this the Flash? I don’t quite understand what he was doing…It was bizarre.”
“There probably is a better way to do it without possibly being part of the play in an embarrassing way,” play-by-play voice Tom McCarthy said. “But that’s how they do do it here.”
In defense of the security guard/ball person, what are the Dodgers doing putting him on a chair in the corner of the field with no room to run? That location is just asking for trouble.
Clearly, his intent was to avoid touching the baseball as it caromed off the fence in the right field corner, but his instinct of sprinting behind Castellanos on the warning track like he was taking part in Milwaukee’s Sausage Race was bizarre. It’s also fitting that Castellanos, who is no stranger to being in the background of awkward or unique moments, was part of this play.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com