A teddy bear attending its first Major League Baseball game suffered a serious injury on Thursday night when a foul ball flew into the stands, striking the bear in the head and leaving it unresponsive.
Innocent teddy bear suffers horrific head injury at MLB game
This poor bear ...
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
“Mr. Cuddles” was watching the Athletics play host to the Diamondbacks when the incident occurred. The home run, hit deep ingot the bleachers in the top of the 8th inning struck Mr. Cuddles, and immediate checks by stadium staff showed the bear would not answer their questions during a welfare check.
It’s unclear where Mr. Cuddles was taken for treatment following the event, but spectators around the bear were understandably shaken up. “I saw the ball fly over my head,” said Bobo, a bear sitting a couple of rows in front of Mr. Cuddles, “but when I turned around I just saw his head snapping back. It was horrible.”
Announcers were laughing at the incident, but it was no joking matter to the bears in attendance. “It might all be fun to y’all,” Fiona, a 3-year-old bear said, “but we’re just like you. Hug us and we mush. Prick us and our stuffing comes out.”
Safety concerns have been a paramount concern since MLB resumed play, which opened the door to bears being able to see games for the first time — but perhaps it’s time for MLB to adopt more stringent measures to protect its softest, most-lovable fans.
Update: The Athletics have announced that the bear is fine, and will be outfitted with additional safety precautions moving forward — which is excellent news.
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