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US: Baseball players targeted with laser pointer
27 Jul 2009 -- Categories: Non-aviation incidents
Two professional baseball players were targeted with a green laser pointer, during a July 25 2009 game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the players said he was “scared for his life”. Footage of the incident is at YouTube.
According to Dan Stamm at www.nbcwashington.com:
A fan at the Cards/Phillies game used a strategically placed laser pointer to try and distract the St. Louis hitters. In the top of the seventh inning the fan first used it on Julio Lugo, who eventually struck out. Then the fan tried to distract Albert Pujols before umpire Jim Wolf called time and tried to find the fan. Security went to the section but the culprit was never caught, according to ESPN.
ESPN described how the laser was called “dangerous” and how one player was frightened:
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa spoke to umpires after the game and said other players besides Pujols were targeted by the laser.
"It's very dangerous," La Russa said.
Julio Lugo, who came up before Pujols, was scared for his life.
"You think somebody is going to shoot you," he said.
Two clips of the incident are at YouTube:
Those Classy Philadelphia Phillies Fans, Part 1
Those Classy Philadelphia Phillies Fans, Part 2