Chicago Photographer Heroically Avoids Being Retraumatized By Ugly First Pitch

Just a couple of weeks ago, Chicago photographer Darren Georgia narrowly avoided a serious bump on his face during a ceremonial first pitch gone awry. Mere milliseconds after his flash captured a White Sox fan’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Georgia’s camera found itself the victim of what was either a targeted hit put out by the mob (unlikely) or an accidental misfire from an inexperienced pitcher (probably).

But real heroes don’t get intimidated off the job just because their lenses got a bit dinged up. On Thursday night, before the White Sox’s game against the Yankees ... well, I’m not even sure what happened, but you can see the ill-conceived first pitch in the top right gif above. There’s no excusing a first pitch that goes about 20 feet higher and 30 feet shorter than it’s supposed to, but Georgia at least survived this one without any damage. Keeping his camera held securely in his right hand, the photographer smoothly snagged the ball bare-handed with his left.

A fellow photographer caught Georgia in his moment of triumph.

Just make whoever got that shot stand next to the mound in the future.