CHICAGO –Rookie Addison Russell had an exciting but also scary debut for the Chicago Cubs this week.
The 21-year-old second-baseman went 1-for-3 with a run scored in his first Wrigley Field game on Monday.
But in a seventh-inning plate appearance Russell lost the grip on his bat and it sailed into the stands near the on-deck circle, hitting a fan seated around 10 rows from the field.
“It just slipped,” Russell said. “I was aggressive that at-bat, I saw a fastball, wanted to hit it and the bat slipped, and then I saw it just connect with his face. I felt so bad. Words can’t describe how bad I feel.
“When the bat was in mid-flight, my mind was screaming ‘watch out, watch out.’ I saw the kid’s glasses fly, and it wasn’t pretty.”
The Cubs said in a statement that the unidentified fan was treated at Wrigley Field and transported to a nearby hospital. The Cubs said the fan was conscious and communicating with medical staff.
“It’s awful, but when you come to the game, please pay attention,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s a crazy game, things fly in the stands and it’s awful. But we all know it can happen.”
The fan’s condition was not known Tuesday but Russell still hopes to eventually give the fan a signed bat.
Russell wasn’t distracted on Tuesday with an RBI double in the second inning as the Cubs opened a 3-0 lead.