How’s this for a sportswriter’s horror story?
Mild-mannered beat reporter Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun was minding his own business sitting in the Camden Yards press box behind home plate near the end of Friday night’s 13-3 Orioles loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Then, just as he was about to publish his completed game story — BAM! Without even so much as a moment’s notice, a stray, unforgiving baseball suddenly plowed its way into the box, destroying Encina’s laptop and, along with it, his livelihood.
Journalism school tall tale? Hardly. Unfortunately for Encina, the scene was all too real thanks to a foul ball off the bat of Orioles DH Pedro Alvarez.
Looks like I'm not filing tonight. My laptop is dead after a Pedro Alvarez foul ball killed it. #Orioles #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/wVsM7GM7GD
— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) June 18, 2016
Interestingly enough, Encina’s now-deceased laptop appears to have been magnetically attracted to chaos, as it actually was already dinged by a separate foul ball, this one off the bat of then-Orioles outfielder Gerardo Parra, some 10 months earlier.
Sometimes the ball just finds you…and sometimes the ball finds your laptop twice in 10 months. #RIPLaptop #Orioles pic.twitter.com/SRcSP4T1Om
— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) June 18, 2016
To his credit, Alvarez was apologetic after learning of the atrocity his bat committed at the expense of an innocent and trusted electronic device.
Talked 2 Pedro Alvarez today about his foul ball destroying my laptop. He smiled & said "Sorry about that." #Orioles pic.twitter.com/kzYR2JQugG
— Eduardo A. Encina (@EddieInTheYard) June 18, 2016
Hopefully, Alvarez, who is making $5.75 million this season, can help chip in for the cost of a new laptop for Encina.
H/T theScore
