It was a grueling evening, all in all. What started with a seven-run scoring spree, went on… and on… and finally, mercifully, ended in a 9-5 loss. After attending four wins, we got to witness the Angels team that hit the road a couple of weeks ago (and lost 7 of 8).What I failed to mention last night, whilst thumbing the tiny keys of my trusty Treo, was the poor idiot who got ejected for fan interference. In the first inning. With his son and father sitting on either side of him.
The scene: One out in the first; Tiger second baseman Placido Polanco pops a foul ball down the left field line. With Garret Anderson galloping hard to make the catch, our hero leaps from three seats right of the action to stick his paw into Anderson’s outstretched glove. When the commotion is over, the ball lands harmlessly in the dirt and rolls to the outfield grass. The giveaway calendars start flying.
The rules of Major League Baseball have two things to say when an overzealous spectator intervenes in the outcome of a ballgame:
- The batter is called out at the plate, and
- The offending fan is thrown out on his ass.
Talk about your humiliating moments; it’s one thing to suffer the embarrassment of public vitriol and shame in front of your old man — he already knows you’re a bum. But to have your pops and your kid witness your disgrace… and to be booted before the end of the first frame? Hopefully, this was a low-water mark for the guy.
Actually, I was kind of surprised that his dad and son left with him. At least they could have stayed and enjoyed the rest of the game. Ah, the obligations of the familial bond.
Of course, in hindsight, the Angels got their carcasses handed to them by the defending American League champions, so maybe our hero did them a kind of martyrical favor when all was said and done. He certainly spared them the agony of watching Weaver pitch five-outs-worth of batting practice.
Artwork by Luke Chueh.
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