Use of batboys, batgirls suspended after Kaiser Carlile death
National Baseball Congress suspended the use of batboys and batgirls during its World Series games after a 9-year-old boy died of injuries he suffered when he was accidentally struck in the head by a bat during a game.
“We suspended the program for the rest of the tournament because of the situation that happened this weekend,” Jason Ybarra, operations manager for the NBC Baseball Foundation, told USA Today.
The NBC tournament, which runs through Saturday, is for college-age amateur baseball players.
[Batboy remembered for love of the game]
Kaiser Carlile died Sunday, the day after he was hit in the helmet by a follow-through swing near the on-deck circle during the Liberal, Kan., Bee Jays’ game in Wichita. The NBC plans to honor him throughout the rest of the Series.
The child was remembered at a press conference Monday for his spirit and love of the game.
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On opening day just two months ago, Kaiser popped up in the dugout for Kansas’s semi-pro baseball team the Liberal Bee Jays, sporting a T-shirt, shorts and “Minions” socks. He told them he wanted to be the new batboy.
“He showed a real desire to do things right,” Liberal Bee Jays spokesman Roy Allen told The Washington Post’s Lindsey Bever. “He wanted to impress our players and coaches so much.”
The group’s World Series has been held in Wichita since 1931 and this is the first such incident.
“Kaiser will always hold a special place in my heart,” Bee Jays catcher Brady Cox said. “I’ll never step on the field and not think of him.”
[Batboy dies after being hit by swing]
“He was our teammate,” Bee Jays pitcher Kadon Simmons said. “He was our spark plug. Without him, no one would run; we’d have no energy.
The Bee Jays won after Kaiser was hurt Saturday night and won again Sunday with Kaiser’s parents in the stands. They support the decision to continue to play because, Manager Adam Anderson said, “they know that’s what Kaiser would want us to do.”
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