As a 6-foot-7, 220-pound shortstop, the Pirates’ Oneil Cruz is one of the more fascinating young players in baseball. Just this year, Cruz has shown off his tremendous arm strength on multiple occasions and recently hit the hardest-batted ball in the Statcast era.
On Friday night, an accident on the part of Cruz almost made for a disaster on the road against the Phillies (-1.5). With Cruz up to bat against Bailey Falter in the top of the third inning, the 23-year-old shortstop went through what was supposed to be a routine swing at a Falter pitch.
Cruz missed and struck out but let his bat go flying back into the stands behind him at Citizens Bank Park. Uh-oh. Fortunately, the bat didn’t seem to hit or hurt anyone:
This could have been very bad pic.twitter.com/JaFzxfeFgx
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 27, 2022
That definitely could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, the netting behind home plate seemed to slow Cruz’s bat down a little, and where the bat landed also appeared to be in a spot where there were fewer people.
In a serendipitous twist of fate, the bat landed just behind the row where former Phillies All-Star Mickey Morandini was sitting. While the fans who got the bat had to eventually return it, Morandini would gift them a signed Bryce Harper bat and jersey for their troubles:
Turned out to be the birthday of the woman the bat hit.
She had to give it back, but Mickey Morandini went & got her a signed Bryce Harper bat & jersey! pic.twitter.com/jvaZ1gh9YT
— DFAntastic (@PhillyTradesman) August 27, 2022
Here are the two women who were forced to return Oneil Cruz’s bat. More on this soon. #Phillies pic.twitter.com/hUxCmN5fHh
— Aaron Bracy (@Aaron_Bracy) August 27, 2022
A scary moment averted and a happy ending for some lucky fans.