"I felt in my heart I should do something," Sanders said. "You gotta remember, it's all about the kids. As a player, we're able to reach out more."
In the bottom of the third inning of St. Louis' 13-2 victory, an unidentified fan crushed Nick on a foul ball hit by Gary Matthews Jr. in a section near the St. Louis dugout.
Witnesses said the stockily built fan, who appeared to be in his 30s, jumped over his row into O'Brien's. He then pinned Nick against the seats with his legs and grabbed the ball.
Mom, dad and other fans weren't happy. Edie scolded the fan. Nick didn't appear to be hurt but was shaken up.
"I couldn't believe someone would do something like that to a 4-year-old boy," Edie said. "He wasn't friendly."
It didn't take long for fans to respond. Mike Hall of Fort Worth, about 10 rows behind the incident, stood up and shouted, "Give him the ball!" The chant mushroomed to nearby sections. Even Rangers announcer Tom Grieve voiced his disapproval on TV. But the fan refused and was booed.
Eventually, the distraction reached the Texas and St. Louis dugouts. Sanders, who saw what happened on TV, went to the section and called Nick and Edie down to the rail to give them a bat and ball. The Rangers also gave Nick a bat from outfielder Kevin Mench. By the next inning, Nick had three more baseballs.
Asked on television what he thought about the whole thing, Nick said, "Cool."
The offending fan and his female companion left the game after the fourth inning.
"He's had a rough time," Edie said of Nick. "I think he thinks this is what is supposed to happen at every game."
dont u guy realize who that ball was hit by? GARY MATTHEWS, JR!!!! all sarcasm aside. It was wrong but it happens at games all the time. Look the kid got another foul ball and a bat. So he got the good side of the deal and the 30 year old guy caught his foul ball so they can both die happy.
Man, too bad I didn't see this thread earlier...I personally don't think it was that big of a deal. I saw it on TV and the little boy wasn't even going for the ball, he was just standing there and it wasn't like he knocked the little boy down the stairs, but his legs did hit him. Folks were acting like the little boy got hurt or something, give me a damn break! Yeah, ole boy was still wrong for jumping over those seats like a fool, but c'mon, he didn't hit the kid on purpose. I could understand if the little boy was running towards the ball and then the man pushed him out of the way but that little **** kid didn't even know what in tha hell was going on, his momma was just mad because the man got the ball, eventhough the little kid got all of that ****in the end. :roll:
