Blue Jays right fielder Jesús Sánchez was removed from Toronto’s game against the Baltimore Orioles on May 31 after suffering an apparent injury when he was hit by a baseball thrown from the stands at Camden Yards.

The ball hit Sanchez on the right wrist below his thumb.

Schneider: “He was pretty sore and surprised. As were we. A ball shouldn’t be coming into the field of play anywhere.

I’m sure the kid feels bad. I’m assuming there was no ill intent there.”

— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) May 31, 2026

The ball, thrown from the right field bleachers, hit Sánchez on the right wrist below his thumb. Toronto manager John Schneider and an athletic trainer rushed to the field to check on the veteran before removing him from the field.

Jesús Sánchez exits the game with an apparent right arm injury.

Sánchez appears to have been struck by a ball thrown from the stands by a fan. pic.twitter.com/xhfZcXAkXa

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 31, 2026

Yohendrick Piñango took over in right field in the bottom of the sixth inning after Sanchez was removed.

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The identity of the person who threw the ball, and the extent of the penalty they received is not yet known. According to multiple reports, the fan was ejected from the game.

Sánchez appeared to raise his glove in the direction of the right-field bleachers, then turned his head briefly as he was struck by the ball in a case of unfortunate timing.

Just talked with several fans in RF who saw what happened.

They described it as an accident. They said a young fan, about 13, saw Sánchez flapping his glove as if to indicate to play catch. The kid then threw the ball late, after Sánchez turned around.

The fan was kicked out. https://t.co/U4oqvXR7RU

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) May 31, 2026

According to Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun, the ball was thrown by a 13-year-old fan who believed Sánchez was motioning to him to play catch.

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“I’m assuming there was no ill intent there,” Schneider told reporters after the game.

“It was a misunderstanding,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “I wasn’t trying to play catch right there with them. I just looked at them and they thought maybe that I wanted them to throw the ball back to me.”

Jesus Sanchez, through Blue Jays interpreter, on getting hit by a fan Sunday:

“It was a misunderstanding. I wasn’t trying to play catch right there with them. I just looked at them and they thought maybe that I wanted them to throw the ball back to me.”pic.twitter.com/IdBzu2o1Cv

— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) May 31, 2026

Still, the policy prohibiting fans from throwing objects (including baseballs) onto the field during a game is universal. Sánchez’s injury is proof of why.

Sánchez, 28, was 1-for-2 in the game, which the Orioles were leading 6-0 at the time. He is 48-for-167 (.287) this season with six home runs in 57 games.

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Piñango performed capably at the plate in his first 29 MLB games this season for Toronto, slashing .277/.318/.398.

But any injury to Sanchez would rob the Blue Jays of their best hitter this season by OPS (.785) and slugging (.461). The Blue Jays acquired Sanchez from the Houston Astros on Feb. 13 in a 1-for-1 trade for outfielder Joey Loperfido.

Regardless of the severity of the injury, it seems to have been unfortunately preventable — a good intention gone wrong.