Odd-ball Occurrence UNUSUAL FLIGHT OF BOUNCING BASEBALL MAKES CONTACT WITH SPECTATOR

Malcolm Hoffman has faced his share of hazards in 23 years as a baseball umpire yet took an unexpected lump on the head as a spectator.

Malcolm and his wife, Lynette, were seated near the dugout watching their son, Alex, then 11, pitch in a game between Camden and Crossett in 2005.

“There are screens down there by home plate, so you think the possibility of getting hit by a baseball would be virtually impossible,” Malcolm Hoffman said.

Yet, in an odd-ball occurrence it happened.

Alex threw a pitch and the batter fouled it off into right field temple. I fell into the lap of another guy. I just went out. My wife goes, ‘Malcolm, Malcolm, what are you doing?’”

The force of the impact left Malcolm with a big lump on the side of his head. He had fallen over onto his best friend, Bopie Booth.

For Alex Hoffman the first clue something was wrong came when he saw the batter break into tears.

“It didn’t really click to me at first. I looked over and saw that someone had hit the ground. As I started leaning over they were trying to pick him off the stand,” Alex Hoffman said. “When I saw it was my dad, I pretty much had an emotional meltdown on the field.”

The crowd didn’t yet know about the father-son connection between the pitcher and injured spectator — until Alex went into the stands to check on Malcolm.

“After he fell over, I walked over and I started, ‘Dad, Dad.’”

Crossett was broadcasting all of their baseball games on the radio with the announcers seated behind the plate protected by the same screen that was supposed to keep spectators from being hit by the ball.

They stopped and came over to Malcolm and wanted to know, “Sir, are you OK?”