Toronto police identify beer-throwing fan from Wild Card Game as local writer
The fan who threw beer in the direction of Orioles left fielder on Tuesday has been ID'd
By
Matt Snyder
•
2 min read
During Tuesday's AL wild-card game in Toronto, some jackwagon Blue Jays fan threw a beer can in the general direction of Orioles' left fielder Hyun soo Kim on a routine fly ball. On Wednesday, Toronto police released a photo of the man in order to help locate him and later announced that he was identified.
It was utterly disgraceful and the fan deserves to be legally punished. There's a social contract when entering sports events to not interfere like that anyway, but there are also rules in place and, if broken, those call for arrest. Throwing objects on the field qualifies and this appears to have been an intentional attempt to cause Kim to miss the fly ball (we can't say the thrower wanted to hit Kim, but we can't say he didn't).
The Toronto Police issued the following statement on the clown fan in question:
On Tuesday, October 4, 2016, at the Rogers Centre, during a baseball game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles, a beer can was tossed from the left-field stands onto the playing field.
Investigators from 52 Division have been working closely with the Rogers Centre to identify the person responsible.
An image of a man, police are alleging to be responsible for this incident, is attached.
Investigators are strongly encouraging this man to seek legal advice and turn himself into police. Anyone with any information on this man, is asked to contact investigators at 52 Division by calling 416-808-5200.
And here is said idiot fan:
Fortunately, it appears he has been caught:
Journalist Ken Pagan, PostMedia employee, ID'd by TSN as man in Toronto police photo related to beer-chucking at Jays game. @TSN_Sports
— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) October 6, 2016
Pagan's Twitter page has since been deleted, but before deletion (via Google cache), I can see that his bio said the following, "Postmedia sports. Hockey, baseball, ball hockey, pond hockey. Solid in the room. Cold beer, hot campfire."
Why is this such a big deal? Well, it's a safety issue, first of all. Secondly, punishment needs to happen to serve as a deterrent for the future and third, it's a total nuisance. Fans are supposed to be gathering to watch this, our baseball, be played by the best baseball players on earth -- not to see if some fan can make a fool of himself.
As for the Blue Jays, they have issued the following apology:
Throughout this season, we have witnessed an incredible level of fan engagement, with a passionate and loyal fan base that extends across Canada.
On the heels of one of the most competitive and exhilarating baseball games in our club's history, it is extremely unfortunate that the irresponsible actions of one individual would detract from the game on the field, and tarnish an otherwise memorable night.
Could I add something? Let's not broadly paint the entire fan base due to the actions of one -- or even a handful of, when that's the case -- individual. Most fan bases are overwhelmingly good but have a few bad apples.
