The
game was interrupted prior to the start of the seventh inning when a
fan jumped over the wall, took off his clothes and went streaking across
the field.
Fans cheered, flashbulbs popped and security hurried
after him as the man, identified in a police report as 22-year-old
Collin Grundstrom of Jefferson City, Mo., made his way from the
right-field foul line way out into left field.
“I’ve never seen
that in my life,” Cardinals rookie outfielder Adron Chambers said after
the game, a 10-9 Phillies win. “Somebody yelled about a naked guy on the
field. That’s the last thing I’m expecting to see, a naked guy running
across the field.”
The man made it to left field before a group of
stadium ushers and police officers finally corralled him and pinned him
to the ground. His clothes were brought from right field and he was
forced to put on his shorts before rising to his feet.
As he
jumped to acknowledge the cheering crowd, the man was body-slammed to
the ground by a police officer. A second officer helped as the man was
walked out through the Cardinals bullpen.
A photo showed him
sporting an upper-body tattoo that read “Hakuna Matata,” a phrase
meaning “No worries” made famous by a song in the animated movie “The
Lion King.”
It was the second incident involving a fan running
onto the field in a game between the two teams in barely two years. A
fully-dressed 17-year-old boy was Tasered on the field by security at Citizens Bank
Park in Philadelphia when the Cardinals were in town on May 3, 2010.
“There’s something going on with us and Philly,” Cardinals third
baseman David Freese said. “That’s (two) streakers between the two of
us.”
Asked if he was concerned or scared, Freese said, “He’s
naked so I don’t think he’s carrying much. That relaxes that bit of the
drama. I guess naked is better. Less to worry about.”
Grundstrom
was arrested and charged with two city-ordinance violations, being a
spectator on a playing field and lewd and lascivious behavior.
Cardinals
director of security Joe Walsh said Grundstrom “appeared to have been
drinking” and that he explained to police that he ran onto the field
because he “lost a bet”.
According to Walsh, Grundstrom was kept
in a holding cell at Busch Stadium before being transported to the city
jail, where he is expected to stay until late Friday afternoon should he
not post bail.
A male and female both ran onto the field at Busch
Stadium on July 31, 2011, during a nationally televised Sunday night
game. The man was quickly caught while the female ran free in the
outfield for several seconds. Thursday’s game was broadcast nationally
on the MLB Network.
