Kindgo
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Explain this one to me .... two fans assault a baseball coach on the field ...
It was unprovoked .... they just jumped out of the stands onto the field in the middle of a game and started beating the first base coach.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=220919104
CHICAGO (AP) -- With his eyes on home plate and his back to the seats, Tom Gamboa never saw them coming.
One second the Kansas City coach was standing near first base. The next he was slammed to the ground, a bare-chested father and his juvenile son on top of him and pummeling him repeatedly.
"I felt like a football team had hit me from behind. Next thing I knew, I'm on the ground trying to defend myself,'' Gamboa said.
"It just happened so fast.''
In a scene athletes have feared for years, Gamboa was attacked without warning by two fans who came out of the seats. The Royals rushed to his aid and Gamboa escaped with only a few cuts and a bruised cheek. He walked off the field to a standing ovation from the crowd at Comiskey Park, where the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1.
But what about next time?
A folded-up pocketknife was found on the ground near the scene, and White Sox outfielder Aaron Rowand said he saw it slip out of one of the fan's pockets.
"I don't know what we can do to eliminate this,'' Gamboa said. "I'm grateful (the Royals) got there as quick as they could, especially when there was a knife involved. God forbid me or somebody else would get stabbed.
"That could have been really tragic.''
The father, identified by police as 34-year-old William Ligue Jr. of Alsip, and his 15-year-old son were led off the field in handcuffs. Friday morning they were charged with aggravated battery.
The son faces two juvenile charges of battery because he also struck a security guard.
"It's sad and disturbing, very disturbing,'' said general manager Kenny Williams, who apologized to Gamboa and the Royals after the game. "Words don't express the sorrow when you look at a man and he's got blood on his face. All he was doing was coaching first base.''
This was the second unusual disruption during a game this week. On Monday night, police trying to break up a fight in the stands at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., sprayed pepper spray that drifted onto the field and sickened some players as the Philadelphia Eagles played the Washington Redskins. There were no serious injuries.
Instances of on-field attacks by fans have been rare over the years, but athletes are increasingly worried for their safety as fans get more and more brazen.
The most notorious incident was when tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan in April 1993 during a match in Hamburg, Germany.
On Sept. 28, 1995, Cubs reliever Randy Myers was charged by a 27-year-old bond trader who ran out of the stands at Wrigley Field. Myers saw the man coming, dropped his glove and knocked him down with his forearm.
On Sept. 24, 1999, a 23-year-old fan attacked Houston right fielder Bill Spiers at Milwaukee. Spiers ended up with a welt under his left eye, a bloody nose and whiplash.
"Stuff like that is hard to control,'' Royals closer Roberto Hernandez said. "Once fans get a little boisterous and have a few too many beers, anything goes. Everybody was watching the play and these guys just literally walked on the field, then rushed Tom.''
Gamboa, in his second year on the Royals staff, said he had no idea why he was attacked. Michael Tucker had just bunted back to White Sox pitcher Mike Porzio for the first out in the top of the ninth, and Gamboa was looking at home plate, his hands on his hips.
Suddenly, the two fans ran onto the field.
"When I saw the two guys running to first base, I thought they were going to run the bases like they normally do,'' Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran said.
But the two headed straight for Gamboa, tackled him and began punching him.
"When you get in brawls with the other team, you have a chance to anticipate this type of thing,'' said Gamboa, 54. "But not when it's coming totally unprovoked. And from behind. I'm just totally stunned.''
Gamboa said one of the men was speaking, but he couldn't tell what he was saying.
"He was yelling something, but it was incoherent,'' Gamboa said. "It just happened so fast.''
The entire Royals dugout cleared and their bullpen rushed in from right field to help Gamboa. Several players jumped on the fans and punches were exchanged.
The White Sox players who were on the field ran over to see what was happening, turning first base into a wild scene. Security came on the field and tried to break it up, but it was several minutes before order was restored.
"Security did a good job cleaning it up,'' Royals first baseman Mike Sweeney said. "If it wasn't for them, we'd probably still be beating on those guys.''
As security led Ligue and his son off the field in handcuffs, trainers attended to Gamboa. Blood was visible on his forehead as he walked, but he was smiling and laughing as he got more treatment in the dugout.
"I'm just stiff and sore,'' he said. "I heard one of the guys say there was a knife. I was stunned, so I was checking to see if I was stabbed and didn't realize it.''
Hitting coach Lamar Johnson replaced him in the first base box, and the game finally resumed after about a 10-minute delay.
Gamboa said he doesn't blame White Sox security for the incident. And he doesn't fault first-base umpire Matt Hollowell or White Sox second baseman Willie Harris for not immediately coming to his aid.
"In fairness to everybody,'' Gamboa said, "everyone was stunned.''
But this should be a sobering lesson to everyone, Beltran said. The next incident might not end so well.
"We think we're safe at the ballpark,'' Beltran said. "What happened today, that tells us no matter where we are, we're not safe.''
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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