Posted on 09/19/2002 10:16:50 PM PDT by AStack75
CHICAGO (AP) -- Tom Gamboa was standing near first base, just as he's done every other night of the season. Hands on his hips, he was watching the next Royals batter come to the plate.
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| The Royals reacted in a hurry to protect Tom Gamboa when the first-base coach was attacked by two fans. |
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Kansas City coach was ambushed by a bare-chested father and his juvenile son who ran out of the seats.
What seemed "like a football team'' crashed into his back and knocked him to the ground. His left cheek was slammed into the turf, and his face absorbed blow after blow.
"It just happened so fast,'' he said. "When you get in brawls with the other team, you have a chance to anticipate this type of thing. But not when it's coming totally unprovoked. And from behind. I'm just totally stunned.''
The entire Royals team and the White Sox rushed to Gamboa's aid. He had several cuts and a large bruise on his forehead, but he walked off the field to a standing ovation from the crowd at Comiskey Park, where the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1.
The father and son were led off the field in handcuffs. White Sox spokesman Scott Reifert said their names will not be released until they are charged.
Reifert said the father will face a charge of aggravated felony assault for hitting Gamboa and a White Sox security guard, who is an off-duty Chicago police officer. The son, whose age was not made available, will face unspecified juvenile charges.
"I would expect major league baseball to do something,'' Royals outfielder Chuck Knoblauch said. "It is amazing something like that hasn't happened before. But it is a fear of players because it seems like the fans continue to get more and more hostile.''
A folded-up pocket knife was found at the scene. White Sox outfielder Aaron Rowand said he saw it fall out of one of the fan's pockets, and Royals closer Roberto Hernandez said he saw security guards place it in an evidence bag.
"I'm just stiff and sore,'' said Gamboa, 54. "I heard one of the guys say there was a knife. I was stunned, so I was checking to see if I was stabbed and didn't realize it.''
Gamboa said he had no idea why he was attacked. He did not fault first-base umpire Matt Hollowell or White Sox second baseman Willie Harris for not immediately coming to his aid.
"In fairness to everybody, everyone was stunned,'' Gamboa said.
This was the second unusual disruption during a game this week. On Monday night, police trying to break up a fight in the stands at FedEx Field sprayed pepper spray that drifted onto the field and sickened some players as the Philadelphia Eagles played the Washington Redskins. There were no serious injuries.
Instances of on-field attacks by fans have been rare over the years.
The most notorious one came when tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan in April 1993 during a match in Hamburg, Germany.
"I happened to be watching years ago that tennis match on TV when Monica Seles was stabbed,'' Gamboa said.
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| An unidentified father and son rush onto the field to attack Royals first-base coach Tom Gamboa. |
On Sept. 28, 1995, Cubs reliever Randy Myers was charged by a 27-year-old bond trader who ran out of the stands at Wrigley Field. Myers saw the man coming, dropped his glove and knocked him down with his forearm.
On Sept. 24, 1999, a 23-year-old fan attacked Houston right fielder Bill Spiers at Milwaukee. Spiers ended up with a welt under his left eye, a bloody nose and whiplash.
"We think we're safe at the ballpark,'' Royals outfielder Carlos Beltran said. "What happened today, that tells us no matter where we are, we're not safe.''
Kansas City was on its way to just its fourth win in 17 games when the game turned ugly. With a runner on second in the top of the ninth, Michael Tucker had just bunted back to White Sox pitcher Mike Porzio for the first out.
Suddenly, the two fans ran onto the field, tackled Gamboa and began punching him.
"I had my hands on my hips and I was looking at the next batter. I felt like a football team had hit me from behind. Next thing I knew, I'm on the ground trying to defend myself,'' Gamboa said.
Gamboa said one of the men was speaking, but he couldn't tell what he was saying.
"He was yelling something, but it was incoherent,'' Gamboa said. "It just happened so fast.''
The entire Royals dugout cleared and their bullpen rushed in from right field to help Gamboa. Several players jumped on the fans and punches were exchanged.
Gamboa is in his second season on the Royals' staff. He was the Chicago Cubs' third-base coach in 1998-99.
Hernandez, who was in the bullpen when Gamboa was attacked, said he thought at first it was a fight between the two teams.
"I was shocked that I saw that tonight,'' he said. "It's a sad case. Those aren't fans, those are just plain idiots.''
The White Sox players who were on the field ran over to see what was happening, turning first base into a wild scene.
"It's sad and disturbing, very disturbing,'' said general manager Kenny Williams, who apologized to Gamboa and the Royals after the game. "Words don't express the sorrow when you look at a man and he's got blood on his face. All he was doing was coaching first base.''
Security came on the field and tried to break it up, but it was several minutes before order was restored. The small crowd at was on its feet the whole time, watching in stunned silence.
Security finally pulled the fans out of the pile, taking them off the field. Trainers attended to Gamboa, who had blood on his forehead.
Gamboa went to the dugout, sitting on the bench as he got more treatment. Gamboa managed a smile and a laugh in the dugout while Lamar Johnson replaced him in the coaching box.
The game finally resumed after about a 10-minute delay.
Before the brawl, Beltran hit a two-run homer for the Royals.
Paul Byrd (17-11) became the first Royals pitcher to win 17 games since Kevin Appier won 18 in 1993. Hernandez pitched the ninth for his 26th save.
D'Angelo Jimenez spoiled Byrd's bid for a shutout with a run-scoring triple in the seventh.
Rocky Biddle (2-4), trying to win a spot in next season's starting rotation, took the loss.
Nah, just your typical Sox fans. Trust me, I grew up there, I know.
Moral of this story? Don't mess with a Nasty Boy.
Apparently, the father responded to a question before being pushed into the cruiser with "he had it coming to him". Very bizarre.
;-)
Actually dad and son didn't look like they got enough education on what happens when you attack a member of the 'family.'
I'd be happy to offer the Royals my services in teaching curbside justice techniques. For a small fee of course.
The father said Gamboa "flicked him off", and that's why he had it coming.
Or was this a "Hold muh whiskey!" situation?
Is it me or is white trash disease (WSD) spreading like wildfire?
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