Incidents Reported so far in 2026
Below is a chronological account of injuries and noteworthy incidents involving balls and bats hitting fans, players, umpires and others in Major League and Professional Baseball thus far in 2026. These were gathered through a combination of traditional reporting and modern monitoring techniques. This is a mid-season audit and FBSN is still in the process of investigating new incidents for 2026.
July 2026
A mother shared images of her teenage daughter after she was struck by a 107mph home run ball at an Angels game, which fractured her nose in four places. The child was escorted out of the stadium via ambulance.
A fan shared images of her bruised leg, after she was struck by a foul ball at a Rangers game.
A female fan was struck in the head by a foul ball at a Rockies game. She was attended to by stadium medics and later seen icing her head.
A woman was struck by a home run ball during the home run derby, leaving a visible mark with stitching.
A social media user shared footage of a male fan being struck in the stomach by a foul ball at an Astros game.
A social media user shared footage of herself being escorted out of Dodger Stadium on a stretcher after she was struck in the arm by a foul ball.
A social media user shared footage of a foul ball off the bat of Manny Machado striking a fan at a Padres game.
A fan is seen being struck in the head by a foul ball on the televised broadcast of the Giants game.
June 2026
A female fan was shown on the televised broadcast being struck right on the head by a home run ball at an Astros game.
A male security guard who was sitting in the stands was shown being struck in the head by a foul ball on the televised broadcast at a Cubs game.
A male fan was struck in the head at a Royals game and seemed ‘dazed,’ according to a social media user, who requested to change seats following the incident.
A woman shared a video to social media, explaining that she was struck by a foul ball in the chest at a Red Sox game.
A male fan is shown being struck in the cheek by a foul ball at a White Sox game during the televised broadcast. The fan appears to fall back into his seat after the collision.
During a Guardians-Yankees game, Jose Ramirez lost control of his bat, which went flying into the stands striking a female fan, who is seen holding her head in visible pain.
During a Royals game, Vinnie Pasquantino fouled off a ball at 117mph that struck a paramedic in the arm, leaving her badly bruised.
A woman was struck in the thigh by a foul ball at a Columbus Clippers game.
The Durham Bulls team mascot took a linedrive to the mask while sitting in the crowd.
A child was struck in the head by a thrown ball during a promotional event at the Frisco Roughriders game, where the kids were running the bases.
On the broadcast of the Knoxville Smokies game, a fan was seen being struck by a foul ball and falling to the ground in pain.
May 2026
A male fan was struck by a foul ball at an As game and later seen icing his face.
A woman shared footage to social media of her bruised chin after she was struck by a foul ball at an Astros game.
A social media user shared footage of a foul ball careening into their section at a Cubs game, claiming it left a bruise on the woman sitting next to them.
A male fan was struck by a 101mph home run ball at a Guardians game and initially knocked unconscious. He lost four teeth and had to receive stitches on his lip.
A female fan was struck on the head by a foul ball during batting practice at a Guardians game and was escorted out of the stadium by medical staff.
In a now viral video, a female fan was sent to the ER with a cracked skull after being struck by a foul ball at a Mariners game.
Apple TV+ reporter Tricia Whitaker was struck in the wrist by a foul ball at an Orioles game. She was attended to by stadium medical staff, given ice and a compression wrap.
A child was knocked unconscious by a foul ball at a Reds game, suffering a concussion.
Red Sox player Masataka Yoshida was struck by a foul ball in the groin area while waiting in the on-deck circle.
Portland Seadogs commentator Perri Keiti was struck by foul balls on two separate occasions; once in the stomach and once in the head.
A Rocket City Trash Pandas staff member took a 70mph foul ball to the head.
April 2026
A’s batboy was struck in the face by a foul ball that knocked his helmet off his head. He was seen bleeding and crying.
A child was struck by a foul ball at an Angels game. The child’s parents were seen rushing the child out of the stadium.
A woman shared video footage to social media after her friend was struck in the stomach by a foul ball at a Cubs game.
Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was struck in the face by a line drive foul ball in the dugout. He suffered a broken jaw and 7 facial fractures.
An EMT for the Royals was struck by a foul ball in the groin area in the dugout.
A female fan shared video footage of a gift bag she received after she was struck in the head by a foul ball at a Red Sox game.
A social media user shared footage of a foul ball striking a male fan in the face at a Blue Jays game. The fan is seen holding their face as the crowd begins shouting frantically for a medic.
A woman was seen in visible pain on the televised broadcast after a foul ball struck her at a Brewers game.
Cubs coach was struck in the neck by a foul ball off the bat of Shohei Ohtani
March 2026
A social media user shared that their best friend was struck by a foul ball at a Mariners game.
A teenager was struck by a foul ball at a Mariners game, suffering a concussion.
A twelve year old child was knocked unconscious by a foul ball at a Mariners game.
A social media user shared footage of himself getting struck in the wrist by a foul ball at an Astros game and crying out in pain.
Resources to Learn More
Our research shows that despite pictures and videos of fan injuries garnering over 30 million views on social media in 2025 and 2026, this issue is still unresolved. Social media is not moving the needle and fans remain in grave danger and in harm’s way.
Based on this NBC report our projections show roughly 5,000 fans sustained injuries from baseballs during 2012-2019.
FBSN’s EXHIBIT A , a well-produced 5-minute ESPN video from 2019, is a powerful smoking gun demonstrating just how bad the situation remains in netting status in many ballparks across America.