It’s not uncommon for fans to throw back balls after an opposing player hits it over the fence, especially from fan bases of iconic teams such as the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees – the most proud fan bases.

We did see something fairly uncommon on Saturday, however. A fan sitting atop Fenway’s famous Green Monster (the left field wall that is extra tall to make up for its closer proximity to the infield) managed to launch a ball all the way back to the man that hit it, Giancarlo Stanton. As Stanton was trotting around the bases, he was surprised to feel a ball one-hop into him.

 

 

The cannon-armed fan was none other than Andrew Lastrapes. After the event, the broadcasters mentioned that security was then present in the high-standing green monster, presumably to kick the fan out for what could have been seen as a bigger deal than it was. According to Lastrapes, security was actually pretty reasonable.

 

The Following is an excerpt from ESPN:

"When the ball hit him, I was just like, 'Oh, this might be a big deal,'" Lastrapes said.

Immediately, Lastrapes called out to a friend who was standing nearby. He told Thomas Barton they'd better leave. Barton, a 32-year-old Athens, Georgia, man, was a row or two below Lastrapes when the ball was thrown. In video replays of the throw, Barton, wearing a brown shirt, can be seen lifting his arms in celebration.

"I looked at Thomas and was like, 'Let's go,'" Lastrapes said. "So I left, and then I saw a bunch of security go down and [they] just missed me. And then I was one security guard left, and it was an old guy, and he was like, 'Son, did you hit Giancarlo Stanton with that ball?'

"And I was like, 'Yes.'"

Chimed in Barton: "It was said more out of shame."

Lastrapes was apologetic about hitting Stanton. Multiple times, he made it clear he wanted the ballplayer to know he didn't mean to hit him.

Fenway Park security had Lastrapes fill out some paperwork to document the incident. But according to him, security never formally kicked him out. He also was not told he was banned from the ballpark.

 

Pretty chill security guards, just like the rest of Fenway staff it seems!

 

 

(H/T ESPN)