MEAWW.COM / NEWS / SPORTS

LA Dodgers 'hero' ball girl celebrated for tackling rogue fan: 'Best play since Rick Monday'

A Dodgers ball girl became an overnight sensation when she tackled a fan running across the field during the Dodgers vs Angels game on August 10

A crosstown game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon, August 10, offered fans the added thrill and entertainment of witnessing a ball girl tackle and toss a fan back into the audience after he had managed to sprint across the field. Video caught of the incident from various different angles has now sent social media in frenzy over the unidentified ball girl who is being compared to Rick Monday historically saving protestors from burning the American Flag in 1976.

Baseball fans continue to risk being apprehended by disrupting play in different ways. One racist Rockies fan recently hurled the N-word at MLB star Lewis Brinson. There are also Cleveland Indians' ex-fans, who have brought protest banners to stadiums to campaign against the team's name change, effective next season onwards.

READ MORE

Tokyo Olympics: How Cuba became best baseball team in the world

MLB All-Star game: Hero hotel maid averts possible 'mass shooting' after finding weapons cache

The video of the famous tackle shows the Dodgers at a junction in the game where they were easily winning against the Angels. That's when the rogue runner stormed onto the field, with security chasing him like a wild goose as the game had to be paused for a while.The background noise is filled with screams and cheers from the spectator's side as guards yell at the man to stop. But it is finally the ball girl standing at the corner of the walls who is able to stop the fan by grabbing him by the waist and throwing him back to the stands.

As the girl tackled and tossed the fan over the wall, a loud “OHHH!” could be heard from the watching crowd murmuring in eager anticipation. The fan was immediately apprehended but nobody cared about the runner. It's the magical ball girl who was showered with praise. Amidst calling her tackle the 'best play in the entire game,' fans have also since tweeted asking teams to sign her up. “This #Dodgers ball girl is not the hero we deserve, but the hero we need,” tweeted LA sport journalist Michael Duarte. Brian Floyd also shared: “Ball girl sent him over the wall like this was arena football."

Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee wrote: "Ball girl looking like a kicker on a long kickoff return… Stays square, find the angle, and BOOOOM over the wall CUZ,” he tweeted." Others begged teams to sign her, as one user tweeted: "Sign that @Dodgers ball girl up with the @chargers or @rams . Keep her in L.A. and on a team where her expertise will come in handy every week, not just when an occasional drunken stupid idiot takes the field," remarked a user.

The general also public noted how this was the best tackle since Rick Monday saved the flag decades ago, writing: "Best play since Rick Monday saved the American Flag." Another tweeted: "Rick Monday would be proud." They were referring to the Cubs center fielder who was tossing a practice ball when two protestors crashed into the field with an American Flag, about to burn it. Monday had snatched the flag and made a run across the entire field before handing the flag over to safety - thus garnering a standing ovation when he came to play during the fifth innings.