A series of ugly moments came during the San Francisco Giants’ 8-7 10-inning loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday night.
Play had to be briefly stopped after Giants fans appeared to throw baseballs and then a beer bottle at Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar, Associated Press reported.
Profar did not mince words in his response.
“These guys are the worst in the league,” Profar told reporters in reference to Giants fans.
“They can talk, but as soon as you try to throw stuff, that’s different,” said Profar. “I was really mad. I’m a happy guy, but when I get mad, it’s different. That thing got me really mad.”
Reports from the game were that Profar attempted to toss a ball to a Padres fan. The ball ended up in the hands of a Giants fan who tossed it back onto the field in Profar’s direction – setting off the unfortunate incident.
Wil Myers, another Padres outfielder, echoed Profar’s take on Giants fans.
“It’s pretty hostile here,” Myers told outlets. “Every time you come play, the fans are very engaged in the game. I don’t agree with what they were doing tonight, but this is who they kind of are.”
Some Giants fans who claimed to be at the game fired back on Twitter that Profar threw a ball exceedingly fast into the stands.
But a number of Giants fans sided with Profar, calling for the bans for those responsible.
Stadiums generally have zero tolerance policies when it comes to endangering players from the stands. Last year, a New York Yankees fan who threw a baseball at Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo was banned for life from all MLB stadiums.
While it is unclear exactly what the repercussions for the fans who threw the balls will be, Profar did report that he saw a lot of security in the left field bleachers where the ball and beer were thrown from.
With summer just around the corner games have been filling up at Oracle Park. The Padres, who are just ahead of the Giants in the N.L. West standings, feature some of Giants fans’ most hated villains like Manny Machado. The left field bleachers are also usually the rowdiest section of the stadium.
But there is absolutely no excuse for fans throwing anything onto the field – especially baseballs or beer bottles which can cause serious injury to players.
Let’s just hope a few disgraceful moments don’t sully the entire fanbases’ reputation.
