VIDEO: Red man chase and tackle
VIDEO: Here's the the chase from a different angle
VIDEO: Red man being escorted off the field
It was the bottom of the seventh in Monday night's Braves vs. Phillies game, when the man dressed head to toe in red ran onto the field.
He was chased by security guards for several seconds. One guard slipped twice. That's when Atlanta left fielder Matt Diaz made a smooth move and took the red runner right out at the knees.
Finally, security guards apprehended the 17-year-old fan, Sean Hagan of Philadelphia.
The teenager was held at the Youth Study Center. He is charged with Disorderly Conduct, Defiant Trespass, and Disrupting Meetings.
When Hagan's parents finally arrived to pick the boy up from custody on Tuesday afternoon he was still wearing the red tights. He had been held since Monday evening.
"He did the wrong thing and it's not to be glorified," said mother Barbara Hagan. "He has to pay for what he did wrong."
"My son just learned a hard lesson," said father Gary Hagan. "He risked himself and the players."
His friends tell Action News Hagan been planning the crime for a while and ordered the outfit online. In fact, a photo of Hagan dressed in the red suit was taken shortly before the game.
The commentators couldn't help but chuckle, and it seems the guy in the red spandex suit won some fans among the guys grabbing a post game cheesesteak in South Philadelphia. But not everyone thought it was so funny... especially at this stage in the season.
Steve O'Neil of Sommerdale, New Jersey says, "I think it's nonsense. There's no need for that. It's a Major League Baseball athletic event, we're coming down to the playoffs. There's no need for that just to try to be on TV."
However, Tom Digirolamo of Deptford says, "Hey, it's part of the show. We're going to the pennant. We're going to the World Series. It's part of the show. If they want to run onto the field, it's OK with me... it think it's funny."
You'll remember back in May, 17-year-old Steve Consalvi got tasered when he ran onto the field. The Phillies stopped using police and left the tackling to the security guards.
In fact, Matt Diaz said later he stepped in on Monday night because he didn't want "spandex man" to get Tasered.
They handled a fan who ran onto the field the day after Consalvi in May... and they did it again, eventually, last night.
