September 19, 2002
I don't believe what I just saw
To steal Jack Buck's great call from the Kirk Gibson homer off of Eckersley, I don't believe what I just saw.
Two "fans" in Chicago ran onto the field and attacked Royals' first base coach Tom Gamboa.
From what I saw, they completely blindsided the defenseless coach, knocking him to the ground, where they continued to punch and kick him.
They broke his glasses and cut his forehead.
A couple of thoughts...
What the heck were Willie Harris and the 1st base umpire doing?!
From the replays it looks as though both of them were within about 10 feet of the attack and they just stood there and watched for about 30 seconds.
I understand being shocked, obviously this isn't something you expect to see on the field, but c'mon!
Once you notice someone being beaten by two shirtless fans, wouldn't you do something other than stand and watch?
I was glad to see the Royals' players come to their coaches' aid.
While Harris and the ump were watching the show, the Royals all came charging out of the dugout to help Gamboa.
It looked like Neifi Perez was the first one to get there and he appeared to have landed a right hand to the face of one of the attackers.
If that was Neifi, it was the best hitting he has done in years (rimshot please!).
We have all seen this type of thing happen before, specifically in tennis (with Monica Seles' stabbing) and also in hockey and footall, and I think it is perfectly fine for the players to beat the crap out of the idiot(s) on the field.
Running onto the field naked or something is one thing, but two idiots running onto the field and assaulting a guy who isn't even aware of the attack is something that should be punished in a big way.
Since Gamboa couldn't defend himself, I think the Royals had every right to defend him, with whatever force they needed to use.
Gamboa didn't ask to be attacked by two idiots and whatever beating they got from the Royals was what they deserved.
"Security did a good job cleaning it up,'' Royals first baseman Mike Sweeney said. "If it wasn't for them, we'd probably still be beating on those guys.''
ESPN.com is reporting that a knife was found on the field where the attack occurred.
If that is indeed the case, I hope these two morons are charged to the highest possible degree.
In other news...
The Twins were in the middle of issuing a beating of their own, to the Tigers, when rain washed away the whole game.
So, the 9 run 1st inning goes down as not really even happening, which is a shame.
