Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h. foul ball offered tickets, custom baseball card

The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h. (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.

On Sunday, Liz McGuire posted a picture of herself with a massive welt on her forehead and subsequent black eye and tagged the Blue Jays after the incident in a now viral tweet.

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“Hey @BlueJays I got my face mashed in by a 110mph foul off Bo Bichette's bat,” she wrote in a post on X.

“I didn't even get the ball. I even stayed till the end of the game. Any way you can hook a girl up?”

The post has racked up more than 13 million views and even caught the attention of trading card company Topps, who announced they had made a card immortalizing McGuire’s experience.

“We made a custom Topps Now trading card of Liz McGuire: the fan who took a 110MPH Bo Bichette foul ball to the head and STAYED AT THE GAME,” the company wrote in a post on X, adding that all 110 copies of the card would be gifted to McGuire.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, the Jays said medics assessed McGuire immediately after the incident.

“The Blue Jays followed up with the fan and invited her to be our guest at an upcoming game and offered her a signed ball from Bo Bichette,” a spokesperson wrote in an email.

In replies to her post on X, McGuire said she went to St. Michael’s Hospital after the 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays to get checked out. Luckily, she said, she did not have a concussion or fracture.

As for how fast the ball felt as it was coming at her, McGuire said: “I don’t think I could’ve stopped even if I tried.”

CTV News Toronto has reached out to McGuire for comment but has not received a response.

The protective netting at Rogers Centre, aimed at preventing incidents like the one on Friday, runs from first and third base on the 100 level. McGuire said she was sitting in section 137.

According to the team's ticket terms and conditions, a general assumption of risk clause states: "The [ticket] holder recognizes that attendance...at the stadium for the game is voluntary and may result in personal injury (including death), illness and/or property damage."

In 2019, the Jays announced they would join a number of other teams and extend the protective netting at Rogers Centre following several injuries to fans on foul balls across the league in years prior.

“Fan safety is a priority and the Blue Jays have numerous precautions in place to ensure a safe environment for all fans at the ballpark,” a spokesperson said, adding that EMS, doctors, and nurses are at every game and staff members regularly check on fans when objects come into the stands.