A Los Angeles Dodgers superfan had his cardboard cutout struck Saturday when catcher Will Smith hit his likeness during the game.
The Dodgers announced earlier this month that they were selling cardboard cutouts with fans’ photos to display in the stadium during the coronavirus pandemic in an effort to replicate the ballpark experience.
Austin Donley, 24, and his dad had purchased two cutouts since they’re usually in the stands attending games every summer.
Donley says he was at the beach Saturday while the game was going on, and when he checked his phone around the eighth inning, he had over 30 text messages. His mom sent him a video of Smith striking a home run and the ball hitting Donley’s cardboard in the neck.
Donley reached out to Smith on Twitter asking if he could keep the ball. To his surprise, the Dodger tweeted back saying, “Sorry I took your head off,” and said he would “hook it up.”
Smith even talked about it a post-game news conference, saying he wants to apologize to Donley again for “hitting his head off.”
Then on Wednesday, Donley received a package with a baseball bat inside, signed by Smith with a message that said, “Sorry I hit you in the face. Go Dodgers!”
If you want to get a taste of the ballpark delivered to your home too, the Dodgers will be selling their famous Dodger Dogs, along with other food and beverages, in parts of L.A. through Home Plates.
And, the cardboard cutouts are for sale and each cost either $299 for the Dugout Club and the new Pavilion Home Run Seats, or $149 for the Loge and Field levels. And, for pets that want to cheer on the Boys in Blue, cutouts of cats and dogs can be purchased too.
Proceeds from the cutouts go to the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, whose mission is to “improve education, health care, homelessness, and social justice for all Angelenos.”