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Kevin Kiermaier hits a foul ball that he cannot escape

Chris Cwik
·Staff writer

The Baseball Gods are having a lot of fun with Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier this season. A few weeks back, they conspired to make him look one of the worst defensive players in the game with some embarrassing errors. Just days later, they allowed him to show off his powers of flight with a game-ending catch.

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If Sunday is any indication, the Baseball Gods aren’t done with Kiermaier just yet. Their love/hate relationship with the outfielder continued during a fifth-inning at-bat against New York starter CC Sabathia.

On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Kiermaier fouled an 89 mph fastball straight down into home plate. The ball bounced up in the air and out of the camera shot.

Nothing to see here, right? This is the type of thing that happens all the time. Based on the initial reactions of everyone in the shot, it looked like a routine foul ball. Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez even asks the ump for a new baseball. No one knew the fouled-off pitch had other plans.

Before Kiermaier can leave the box to reset himself, the ball comes down and hits him right in the helmet. He throws his hands up near his head, looks around and then backs away as he realizes what just happened.

This foul ball came back to haunt Kevin Kiermaier. (MLB.com Screenshot)
This foul ball came back to haunt Kevin Kiermaier. (MLB.com Screenshot)

The whole thing was so perfect that we wouldn’t blame you for thinking supernatural forces were at work here. The ball took the perfect bounce on home plate, lingered in the air just long enough to lull everyone into a false sense of security and then hit its target in just the right spot.

Yeah, it’s safe to say the Baseball Gods are once again having their way with Kiermaier. And based on the back and forth nature of their relationship this year, we would love to know what the heck Kiermaier did to make them angry.

(BLS H/N: CBSSports)

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik