Skip to content

After Galvis tirade, second Phillies fan struck by foul ball

Bill Streicher / USA TODAY Sports

Hours after Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis sounded off on the lack of protective netting at Citizens Bank Park, another fan was struck by a foul ball.

Galvis berated the organization after a foul ball off his bat hit a young girl in the face Saturday. The girl had to be taken to hospital for further evaluation.

Related: Galvis rips ballpark safety: Put up net, protect all fans

On Sunday - the Phillies' very next game - Erin Neyer was struck in the mouth while trying to protect her six-year-old daughter, according to Philly.com's Matt Breen.

Neyer's father Bob Gillece was attendance as well, but was not sitting with his family at the time of the incident.

"You just feel so helpless. Here it was supposed to be a day at the ball game with mom and pop-pop like mom used to do when she was your size," Gillece said. "It's hard to put the feelings into words. As a father, you just want to make it go away. You want to make things better. You want to be able to do something.

"You want to be able to help. But there's nothing you can do."

The woman was examined at the first aid tent at the stadium. She suffered a swollen lip, and her mouth was full of cuts and contusions.

Philadelphia already extended the nets behind home plate by 10 feet this year, and they said they could add more next year. Gillece maintained it's imperative that the organization does something about it sooner rather than later.

"Don't even wait until next year. It's not like it's the biggest obstruction in the world," Gillece said. "Plexiglass at a hockey game bothers your vision more than netting. You won't even notice it."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox