Dodgers superstar Cody Bellinger has a lot of fans, some of whom are so desperate to meet the ballplayer, they're willing to risk arrest and a lifetime ban from the stadium. For the third night in a row, a fan charged onto the field, heading toward the outfielder before he was tackled by stadium security.
"It's getting ridiculous," Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner told the Los Angeles Times. "It’s just not safe and it seems like they’re getting younger and younger and it’s going around now that nothing’s happening to these young kids. They just kind of get a slap on the wrist. So baseball’s going to have to do something to make it hurt enough to keep fans in the stands and not running out on the field."
The first incident occurred at Sunday's (June 23) game at Dodger stadium when a female minor jumped out of the stands, ran onto the field and tried to hug her favorite player.
"I had been dying to meet him," the young fan told the Ben Maller Show. "I thought to myself I'm young now and this is probably going to be the only time I'll ever be able to meet him. My mom was in the restroom when I did it. I gave him a hug, and he said, 'You really did that?!' and that's when they tackled me."
Then, it happened again on Monday, when the Dodgers hit the road to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. There, another fan rushed the field and was able to get close to Bellinger, but security escorted her off the field.
After the game and his first close encounter with a fan on the field, Bellinger told reporters that he had a feeling she was harmless.
"I think she just said, ‘Can I hug you again?’" Bellinger said. "I had a feeling she was harmless ... but it could potentially get dangerous, especially if it keeps getting blown up like it is. I had a feeling that it was definitely a possibility, just because it kind of blew up on social media. I’m just trying to play a game and I don’t think I have to worry about if anyone comes on the field."
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