CHICAGO (AP) - The woman struck by a foul ball during Monday night’s game at Guaranteed Rate Field was treated at a nearby hospital and released Tuesday morning, according to a Chicago White Sox spokesman.
The unidentified woman was sitting in the stands just past the White Sox dugout down the third base line and was struck by a hard liner in the fourth inning off the bat of Chicago’s Eloy Jiménez. She was bleeding around the head area, and was covered with a towel. She walked up toward the concourse with assistance of stadium personnel.
She then was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.
“She came back here with her friend and picked up her car this morning,” said Scott Reifert, the White Sox’s senior vice president of communications.
“We’ve left a couple of messages for her - we always reach out - and we haven’t heard back.”
Reifert said he had no information about the nature of the treatment and it will be up to the woman whether or not her name is made public.
The incident was just the latest scary moment to raise the issue of fan safety. Last month, a liner off the bat of the Cubs’ Albert Almora Jr. struck a young girl in the stands at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.
Almora reacted emotionally and had to be consoled by teammates and stadium personnel after breaking down on the field. Jiménez reacted Monday night by putting his hands on his helmet after the fan was struck.
The protective netting at Guaranteed Rate Field extends to the end of the dugout, which is the level of protection mandated by major league baseball. There has been some talk that it should be extended farther down the line.
“I think as an industry, probably all of baseball is gonna continue to take a look at it,” Reifert said. “We really do every year.
“Obviously, the security and safety of our fans is important. I think we made the steps we did around baseball to address that.”
Reifert said the White Sox are willing to work with fans who are concerned about safety.
“There are a lot of seats behind netting, so for people coming with young kids or if it’s an important concern of theirs, they should absolutely ask at the ticket windows and we will accommodate them as best we can with seats that they know are gonna be protected,” he said.
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