Langford gifts fan a signed ball after his HR was hit too hard to catch
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ARLINGTON -- No one wants to take a line drive off any part of their body.
One fan had the unfortunate luck to end up on the receiving end of a 111.3 mph laser off the bat of Wyatt Langford in Sunday afternoon's 10-0 win over the Guardians.
Langford launched the Rangers’ third home run of the game in the fourth inning, and it sailed right into the first row of the left-field stands. The ball appeared to hit the fan’s rib cage as he attempted to catch it before it fell into the gap between the stands and the wall. The Rangers Sports Network camera panned back to the fan later in the inning, showing him holding a bag of ice.
The next inning, Langford gifted the same fan, Kenny Yu, an autographed ball for his troubles. He signed it, adding “Sorry for hitting you! Go Rangers!”
Rangers Sports Network field reporter Laura Stickells spoke with Kenny and his son, Sebastian, a few innings later.
“It just came so fast, I didn’t have any time to react,” Kenny told Stickells. “It hit right off my chest and fell right into the [gap]. … I’m gonna bring my glove next time.”
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Langford said postgame that he still hadn’t even watched the video, but manager Skip Schumaker told him in the dugout: “You probably should give that guy a call or something, I think you got him pretty good.”
“I felt really bad,” Langford added.
Langford isn’t the first Rangers outfielder to play Santa Claus with fans.
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On May 18 in Houston, Brandon Nimmo gifted fans in right field at Minute Maid Park with souvenir balls after he robbed a potential home run from falling into their section.