9-Year-Old Bat Boy, Dies After Being Struck by Bat
 

Kaiser Carlile, 9-Year-Old Bat Boy, Dies After Being Struck by Bat

Aug 3, 2015, 3:35 AM ET

A 9-year-old bat boy for a Kansas baseball team died Sunday, one day after he was accidentally struck by a bat during a game.

Kaiser Carlile, the bat boy for the Liberal Bee Jays summer team in Liberal, Kansas, was struck in the head as a player took practice swings during Saturday's game against the San Diego Waves. Carlile was wearing a helmet.

He was hospitalized in critical condition after being struck by the bat.

"With the permission of the family, and with much sorrow and a very broken heart, I regretfully inform everyone that Kaiser Carlile passed away earlier this evening," team president Nathan McCaffrey wrote in a statement. "Please keep his family and our team in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you all for the support during this ordeal."

Kadon Simmons, a player on the team, referred to Carlile as "a little brother I never had" in an Instagram post.

"No person or team could ask for a better bat boy," Simmons wrote. "It is terrible to see you leave in such a way, but knowing your last moments were on the baseball field makes it easier through this whole process, because you were doing what you loved."

The Liberal Bee Jays play in the Jayhawk Baseball League, a summer league for college players.

The Liberal Bee Jays......in the interest of decorum at a sad time like this, I'm just going to leave that low hanging fruit on the tree.

Yeah, I deemed it prudent to let that sleeping dog lie, too.... :leaving:

:sadangel::sadangel:

Wow....imagine being the player that swung that bat? He wil be a different person for the rest of his life because of that accident. I feel for him and the family of the boy.:sadangel:

:sadangel:

RIP
Very sad, indeed

:iagree: :sadangel: Probably never be able to pick up a bat again. Even though it was an accident, the guilt must be gut-retching.

I agree, Rob. Terrible for both. :sadangel:

Poor little guy.....:sadangel:

:sadangel: Horrible for everyone involved.


https://2dbdd5116ffa30a49aa8-c03f075...58027.0316.jpg

There's a Go Fund Me page set up to help the family: BigHits4Kaiser

:sadangel:

My mom was hit in the mouth with a baseball bat when she was in college. She was coaching a game (PE major) and instead of dropping the bat after the kid hit the ball, he flung it away from himself. She ended up in the hospital for several weeks with a concussion, broken jaw, and lost all but 4 teeth. The kid who hit her became a dentist.

:sadangel::sadangel: for Kaiser, his family, and all involved.