With a baseball bat flying toward his son's face, Shaun Cunningham reacted exactly how any parent would in that situation. A photographer covering the Pittsburgh Pirates' spring training game against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday captured just how that reaction went.
Cunningham, 37, blocked the bat's barrel as it appeared to be headed directly at his son's nose. Landon, 8, was looking down at a cellphone after texting a photo from his first Major League Baseball game to his mom but popped his head up just as the bat came near.
"A little bruised, but I'll survive" Dad's quick reflexes save the day https://t.co/pcgW7wWMMy w/@Hornerfoto1 photos pic.twitter.com/7bIFRf4jPN
— TribLIVE.com (@TribLIVE) March 8, 2016
It happened so fast Pirates outfielder Danny Ortiz, the player who lost grip of his bat, did not even know what happened until after the game.
"I saw the picture. It was crazy," Ortiz said. "That guy took a shot for the kid. He protected that kid."
@BiertempfelTrib The two frames showing just how close the bat was to the boy's head. pic.twitter.com/7VwnfWp8L1 — Christopher Horner (@Hornerfoto1) March 6, 2016
After glancing off Cunningham's arm, the bat spiraled away.
"I was just protecting my son," Cunningham said Monday. "There wasn't a lot of time to think about it. I just reacted.
"I'm a little bruised, but I'll survive. I've been through worse."
From Ocala, Fla., Cunningham is a firefighter and played baseball in high school. So when Ortiz lost the grip on his bat and it slipped out of his hands and went flying into the stands on the first base side, Cunningham was prepared.
"Thank God he has those reflexes," Cunningham's wife, Ashley, said. "That bat was flying dead-center toward Landon's head.
"It was a pretty memorable birthday for Landon. Dad's really a hero in his eyes."
MLB prioritized fan safety over the winter, releasing a series of recommendations for teams to take. Measures included extending the netting that separates the stands from the field down both the first- and third-base lines as well as a more comprehensive warning about the dangers of objects from the playing field making their way into the stands.
Several teams began implementing extended netting at their spring training stadiums and others announced plans to do so at their main ballparks.
The photo of Cunningham blocking the bat from Landon's face went viral and was shared in articles published by news outlets in the U.S. and beyond. The family was even asked to join daytime talk shows.
