Saturday, July 09, 2011

Ranger Fans File Restraining Order Against Josh Hamilton

Arlington, TX - Several thousand Texas Ranger baseball fans have filed for a restraining order against Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton on Friday, according to local authorities. The order, filed after two incidents of fan injury, one fatal, in the span of two days, prohibits Hamilton from entering a radius of 50 feet from any fan at the ballpark without proper supervision.

On Thursday, Hamilton threw a foul ball to a Rangers fan, who fell 20 feet head first into a gap behind the out of town scoreboard as he caught the ball for his son. The fan died an hour later from blunt force trauma to the head. Then on Friday, Hamilton smashed a foul ball into the stands which struck a young male fan in the face. The two incidents led fans to seek the order.

In order to comply with the legal ruling, Hamilton has been moved to second base, and has been prohibited from chasing balls that stray too close to wherever fans are seated. In between innings, Hamilton must be escorted to and from the dugout by two court appointed social workers, and all warm up swings must be taken within the front seven inches of the batters box, not the traditional on deck circle, which rests within the forbidden area. In the event that Hamilton finds himself in possession of a dead ball, he has been instructed to lie on the ground with his hands at his sides until trained personnel can remove the potentially fatal projectile from his possession. Hamilton must also only slide to the inside of the plate.

Vince Coleman was unavailable for comment as of press time.