Fights happen often, possibly everyday. They can also take place anytime, anywhere, even at places you’d least expect. However, most people can’t say that they’ve witnessed a fight at a sporting event. Well, surprisingly, that’s what happened on Saturday, October 5th.
During the game, the Los Angeles Dodgers were losing miserably to the San Diego Padres, with the score being 6-1 at the time of the incident. Dodger fans grew furious at the potential outcome of the game, as well as the taunting of the Padres players, and eventually started throwing objects at the Padres. This forced the game to be paused for about nine minutes after the incident occurred. Fortunately, there were no severe injuries to any of the players, and the game was able to continue afterward without any other misfortunes.
It was reported that the hateful abuse towards the Padres started during the first inning, when Padres outfield player Jurickson Profar lunged into the left-field corner stands to steal a home run from Mookie Betts. After successfully stealing the home run, Profar taunted the Dodger fans by facing the stands and dancing in their faces, mocking them.
It supposedly got worse after Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres right-fielder, made a lunging catch of first baseman Freddie Freeman in right field. He then took measures to sarcastically lead the profane chants of fans in the right-field pavilion.
After more ridiculous antics from the Padres players attempting to get under the Dodgers skin, mayhem began when two fans reportedly threw baseballs at Profar. Numerous water bottles and beer cans were also thrown towards Tatis Jr. from multiple Dodger fans at the stands.
When Jose Ramirez, math and introduction to data science (IDS) teacher, was asked about his opinion of this incident, he stated, “They shouldn’t be throwing things at the players; especially metallic items.” He added, “Baseballs are only to be thrown back to the field if they were hit into the crowd with the bat.”
The game finished with a result of 10-2, the Padres gained a victory over the Dodgers on Saturday night. No other incidents occurred for the remaining duration of the game.
