After Jose Bautista jacked a solo home run off Yankees’ pitcher Masahiro Tanaka in the 7th inning Sunday, a small group of fans around where the ball landed began the inevitable chant, “Throw it back! Throw it back!”
Throwing back home run balls hit by a visiting team is normal in Major League Baseball. It’s not so normal, however, to see a thrown back ball pelt one of the home team players upon return to the playing field.
But that is exactly what happened on Sunday in the final of the three-game series between the Toronto Blue Jays (61-52) and New York Yankees (61-49). Bautista’s homer was thrown back by a Yankees fan more interested in getting some laughs than keeping a souvenir, and upon return the ball hit Yankees Outfield Brett Gardner square in the back..
Gardner was a good sport about the incident and did not seem to be injured at all. It is unclear whether the Yankees fan was maliciously intending to do harm to Gardner by pegging him with the ball or was just too stupid to throw it anywhere in the vast field other than exactly where Gardner was standing. As this game took place in New York, both are very plausible possibilities.
Bautista’s home run extended the Blue Jays lead to 2-0, the eventual final score. Sunday’s win completed the Blue Jays three-game series sweep over first-place New York, gave the Jays their 11th win in 12 games, and brought them within 1.5 games of the Yankees for first-place in the American League East. Currently, the Baltimore Orioles sit 4.5 games out and are third in the division with an overall record of 56-53.
The throwback was caught on camera and quickly uploaded to Vine. Check it out below.
