Nine-year-old Kaiser Carlile, who served as a volunteer batboy for the amateur baseball Liberal Bee Jays, died last week after being accidentally struck in the head as a player took his routine on-deck swings.
A full-time batboy, Carlile was wearing a helmet when, going on about his job that he had done so diligently all summer long, he rushed out of the dugout to collect a discarded bat during the third inning of a game between his beloved hometown Bee Jays and the San Diego Waves.
A nightmare of all nightmares occurred next as he was unintentionally struck in the head with a bat.
Typically, a batboy or batgirl is the younger sibling that, more than anything else, wants to tag along with his big brother or sister to feel part of a team, or is simply a child that knows someone connected to a baseball club that can get them that much-sought-after job.
Kaiser Carlile was no different. And, according to reports from the Liberal Bee Jays, the freckled-faced, baseball-loving boy was very good at his summer job.
Since the accident that took Carlile’s life, some are calling for leagues across North America to ban the use of batboys and batgirls, as the National Baseball Congress has done “out of respect for the Bee Jays.”
As unfortunate as this incident was, I believe the baseball world needs to step back, take a deep breath and re-evaluate safety concerns – not make a knee-jerk decision that would put an abrupt end to a long-standing tradition.
According to a report by Bloomberg Businessweek, approximately 1,750 spectators attending baseball games of various levels across North America are injured each year as a result of baseballs flying into the stands.
But you don’t hear people calling for the banishment of fans, or even baseballs for that matter.
Despite the death of his son, Carlile’s mourning father believes the batboy tradition should continue, stating it’s “tremendous for kids.”
Agreed.
Like mascots, batboys and batgirls have been part of the grand old game since the 1880s.
With their funny nicknames and donning such abnormal numbers as 00 or on the back of their undersized uniforms, they can be cute and charming to both fans and players alike.
Sure, we can learn something from this, as we do from most tragic accidents, but to outright ban a century-plus old tradition would be unfortunate.
One step that could be made is setting a minimum age limit for batboys and batgirls across all levels of baseball.
Major League Baseball (MLB), which has been under scrutiny for fan safety concerns this season, did just that when they set their minimum age limit to 14 following an incident with a three-year-old (son of San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker) during the 2002 World Series. Baker’s young son ran out to retrieve a bat while play was still on only to be luckily picked up (and saved from being bowled over) by Giant first baseman J.T. Snow while he was crossing home plate.
Another option, one I feel only makes sense, is that any child wanting to spend their summer fetching bats should be required to take a certifiable course on baseball etiquette, safety and awareness – with awareness being the key.
Strangely enough, everyone but a batboy or girl on a baseball field is either certified (coaches and umpires) or insured (players).
Now this makes as much sense as a screen door on a submarine. How is the youngest person, and the one most likely unaware of the dangers of the vocation, not certified or insured?
Would a batboy course of some type have saved Kaiser Carlile’s life?
Likely not, because after all accidents are accidents, but we can at least make an attempt to prevent such catastrophes from happening again without abolishing such a long-standing tradition.
It’s the least we can do.
