Chicago Cubs’ John Baker wants fans safety to be top priority

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

On Sunday night when the Chicago Cubs took on the St. Louis Cardinals in a nationally televised game, Cubs catcher John Baker hit a laser foul ball into the stands that struck a fan in the side of the head. Baker was clearly shaken during the at-bat, and concern could be seen not only by Baker, but Cards catcher Yadier Molina and home-plate umpire Angel Hernandez.

"You don’t want to see anybody ever get hurt in life, period,” Baker said Monday. “You see somebody get hit in the face with a baseball, and I think when you have been hit in the face yourself, you know what it feels like and what they’re going through. Fortunately for me, after it happened, I looked up and saw she was smiling. That took a lot of the pressure off.” (h/t Carrie Muskat, MLB.com)"

If you’ve ever been to a baseball game, you know you are always urged to stay aware for foul balls. It can happen in a second, and most of the time fans down the first and third base lines are in the most danger. Baker told Carrie Muskat he and Molina had that discussion following the fan getting struck.

"“When you’re over the dugout here at Wrigley Field, you’re so close to the action, I don’t know if you have time to get out of the way,” Baker said. “[Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina] looked at me right after it happened and said, ‘Why don’t they put a net up? Why don’t they block that off so nobody gets hit?’"

There is already a long list for the renovations on Wrigley Field, but Baker hopes maybe those kind of issues will be addressed as well. Until then, always remember to be alert when attending a baseball game at any level.