Cameras in sports are supposed to show the action rather than becoming part of it, but every so often, we see a camera, camera operator, or monitor hit by a ball or player, whether in studio or during a live game. The latest case of this came from the ABC Women’s College World Series Oklahoma-Texas broadcast Saturday, where a foul ball from Texas’ Mary Iakopo hit an ESPN camera in the stands down the third-base line. Here’s video of that, via ESPN’s Bill Hofheimer:
Our ESPN camera operators are the best in the business… and they never flinch.
From @NCAASoftball's #WCWS on ABC a moment ago. pic.twitter.com/KQbchL0OT9
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) June 4, 2022
As Hofheimer notes, it is amazing that the camera operator didn’t flinch with this ball heading right at them. Hopefully this didn’t cause too much damage to the camera. But it certainly made for a remarkable shot.
This is part of the first-ever time the Women’s College World Series has had games carried on ABC. The five-day, eight-team double elimination tournament (which began Thursday) will have all of its games shown across ABC and ESPN platforms this year, with the best of three championship series beginning this coming Wednesday. More information on those broadcasts, their schedule, and the various technical innovations ESPN is deploying for them, can be found in this release.
[Bill Hofheimer on Twitter]
