March 08, 2016
6ABC/Screenshot / Christopher Horner / Tribune-Review
Father saves son from flying bat at spring training.
A father is being hailed a hero, or, in his words, just a dad, for saving his son from a flying baseball bat that soared into the stands and straight for his 8-year-old son's face during a spring training game in Florida.
Shaun Cunningham, 37, and his son, Landon, were at the Pittsburgh Pirates' spring training game against the Atlanta Braves in Orlando when, in the fifth inning, outfielder Danny Ortiz lost his grip on his bat on a swinging strike, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.
A Tribune-Review staff photographer at the game snapped images of the scene, and those photos have since gone viral.
UPDATE with more photos: Fan saves boy's face from flying baseball bat, via @BiertempfelTrib https://t.co/10MwcI8gYq pic.twitter.com/z3559tcgLK
— TribLIVE.com (@TribLIVE) March 7, 2016
Shaun Cunningham told Tribune-Review staff writer Rob Biertempfel, “I was just protecting my son.”
Read more at the Tribune-Review and 6ABC.com.
