An 11-year-old White Sox fan ran on the field and, no, security did not tackle him
That kids is grounded for SO LONG.
The Chicago White Sox — like all Major League Baseball players — are told to avoid fans when they run onto the field. This policy is due to safety concerns following a scary on-field attack involving former Kansas City Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa in 2002.
But nobody ever expected to see a small child breach security barriers and go for a victory lap on the field. Well, it happened on Wednesday night, and even White Sox center fielder Adam Engel wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react. Security guards also took a different approach.
During the ninth inning against the Astros, an 11-year-old fan managed to run around the outfield at Guaranteed Rate Field and went to hug Engel. Security — which typically deploys full-speed tackles to stop on-field intrusions — managed to calmly walk the young fan off the field.
Still not sure how that even happened. After all, small children tend to be slow. He must have caught an area with little security presence. Nonetheless, Engel told reporters after the game about the entire encounter.
“Engel, Engel, I love you. Can I have a hug,” the fan said, according to Engel.
Fans, of course, had plenty of thoughts about the scene in Chicago. Some wanted to see a tackle from security.