Children die playing sports. Young riders die competing on horseback.
There is no way to protect our children from the sometime consequences of living life to its fullest.
Sad for his family and sad for the pitcher.
I think young boys who have not developed the thicker chests are at greater risk.
When my boys were playing Little League baseball, that was my greatest fear and that was a decade ago. I couldn’t find protective gear. Every year boys die from the pitched ball to the chest.
Oh, how very sad. May God rest his soul, and Bless his family.
From about fifty years ago I can still see the black eye and his running home crying of a neighborhood kid who got hit in the eye from a foul tip during a sandlot game. He was playing catcher, and none of us kids had any kind of protective equipment. Could have happened to any one us among other hazards that kids tried to avoid back in the days. The kid who got hit in the eye had a pretty good shiner for weeks. He survived though without losing his eyesight.
Portable AED’s are becoming more affordable, and more common. Worth considering even at the individual level.
http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Aed-Home-Defibrillator-Kit/dp/B003XYYZCO
Lord comfort Hayden’s family as they grieve a precious life cut short. Bless them abundantly with support from family and friends. Send your Holy Spirit to bring them peace when they most need it. In Christ’s name we ask these things. Amen.
I agree that we can sympathize with the pitcher, as well, in this case. Having known more than one evil pitcher in my lifetime, I can tell you they don't throw at your chest.
I don’t know why ALL ball parks don’t have de fibs on site with some trained to use them.
Horrifying. As a parent of kid in sports, this is my worst nightmare.
FYI, this has only happened twice in the major leagues, and not since the death of Ray Chapman of the Indians in a game against the Yankees at the Polo Grounds in 1920.
He was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Carl Mays. The ball was very dirty (IIRC Mays was a spitball thrower) and Chapman simply didn’t see it. He died in a hospital the next day.