If a fan came on the field during the game, how many athletes wouldn't crack him?

Question

Do you think there's anybody nice enough to put their arm around the guy, and walk him off the field to security waiting to escort the fan to jail?

I know you should never run on the field. But when some nutcase does, isn't most athletes first reaction to clobber the person if they get the chance?

If an athlete instead decided to hear the guy out, and actually talked to the guy for a couple seconds while walking him off the field with his arm around the crazy douche, would that say something about the athlete?

Would A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, or anyone that's a perceived ego-maniac do this?

The reason I ask is because of this article which surprised me:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070630&content_id=2058597&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Ed K: When I intially posted the ?, I omitted the article, hoping to bait some Bonds hater to say there's no way he'd do such a thing.

The reasoning behind why it wasn't on Sportcenter: because ESPN is the biggest and best torch-holder for the Bonds witch hunt.

Answer 1

In my admittedly limited observations, most athletes, when approached, would rather duck than deck. They tend to back away until the security goons arrive.

Unless it was Morganna, of course. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morganna

Answer 2

Players are not to come in contact with the fan who comes on the field--for a good reason. Not to clobber, not to escort, not at all.

Most "nutcases," as you call them, are harmless, but not all. Players and their teams cannot take the risk that the "crazy douche" (your word choice is not exactly sympathetic, is it?) is among the tiny number who are violent and would fight with or otherwise harm a player if given a chance. Teams don't pay millions for players, then allow them to take needless risks. Even a minor injury can make for a bad few games or the disabled list.

It's worth noting that in live theatre, when a disturbed fan gets on stage, he or she may be treated very differently, seated nearer (and under the direct supervision of ushers or security) and sometimes allowed to meet the cast after the show, rather than being thrown out.

Answer 3

No, the ego-maniacs would not, nor should they. Putting their arm around the person running on to the field and escorting him off would only lead to increased nutcases running on to the field to get a hug and escort from their favorite player. NOT a good idea. Players avoid the fan and let security handle the situation, as they should. unless the fan poses a threat to the player in which case the player should defend himself.

Chow!!

Answer 4

I'm confused...you ask:

"Would A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, or anyone that's a perceived ego-maniac do this?"

It WAS one of those perceived ego-maniacs who did this!

Ferret, you're right...why DIDN'T we see this on Sportscenter?

I think back to when Hank Aaron broke the Babe's record and, as he was rounding the bases, two fans ran onto the field alongside him, slapping him on the back and congratulating him. Given the accounts of the death threats and racial slurs received by Aaron during his pursuit, you have to wonder what was going through his head.

Answer 5

If an athlete ran onto my field I would just let him have his fun. He would be about to get tackled by security in a few seconds anyway.

Edit: Wow, that article makes Barry Bonds seem like a pretty genial guy. Hmmm.... I wonder why we didn't see that on Sportscenter.

Answer 6

Actually no, I have not seen the athletes get involved with a jerk like that very often. They just allow stadium security to handle it 99.6% of the time.

But this reminds me of one of my favorites -- there was an occasion in 1976 when a Cubs outfielder named Rick Monday rescued a US Flag from a fan that had ran onto the field and was about to burn it.

Answer 7

Honestly, i don't think that their is one person in the league who would clobber the fan. He just wanted to meet Bonds. The only time that i could see a player clobbering the fan is if the baseball player felt like he was in danger.

Answer 8

I don't believe any of the athletes would do bodily harm that is the job of the security. I think most of the players would talk to this person till help arrived.