Scary Sight As Photographer Hit in the Head By Foul Ball During MLB Game

A Major League Baseball (MLB) game between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels was delayed last night in Anaheim after a photographer was hit in the head by a hard foul ball line drive.

The scary moment occurred in the top of the sixth inning, when Yankees’ star first baseman Ben Rice fouled a 79.5 mph line drive down the first-base line and directly into one of the camera wells.

The baseball struck photographer Steven Park directly in the head. Yankees players and the team’s trainer, Tim Lentych, immediately rushed over to Park and then asked for additional medical assistance.

Park, who was there working for The Sporting Tribune, was eventually able to walk over to a medical cart under his own power and was fitted with a precautionary neck brace. The Angels say that Park was thankfully doing okay following the incident, The Athletic reports.

Ben Rice is such a good kid.

Foul ball hits camera man. He walks right over to where the guy got hurt, stays with him until he gets in the medical cart, and shakes his hand. pic.twitter.com/TA4OT1ofqI

— That’s Baseball, Suzyn (@Thats_BB_Suzyn) September 3, 2026

Rice was understandably shaken by the incident. He went over to check on Park and shake his hand before the photographer went on the medical cart.

“Very relieved. I saw he was not ready for any kind of impact there,” said Yankees player Ben Rice after the game. “He was looking the other direction, and I saw it hit him. I wasn’t sure how square it him in the head, but definitely a scary scene. I’m happy to hear that he’s okay.”

Park is certainly not the first photographer to get hit by a foul ball at a baseball game. It is unusual for a photographer to be hit directly in the head, though, as it is more often their huge lenses that take the impact.

As photographers who shoot baseball now, the well is a very dangerous place to be. It offers a great view of the on-field action, but a hard-hit foul ball gets from home plate to the well in a split second, and it’s nearly impossible to react in time in the best-case scenario, and harder still when trying to work.

Thankfully and most importantly, Park is okay. Hopefully he will be able to get behind the lens again soon, as he is a very talented sports photographer. The situation could have very easily gone much worse.

Image creditsYES