Kris Bryant's broken bat gets stuck in netting, refuses to come down

When Chicago Cubs slugger Kris Bryant makes contact, it’s usually the baseball that pays the price.

However, during the first inning of the Cubs 7-5 win against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, it was actually Bryant’s bat that ended up irreparably damaged after snapping above the handle on a line drive back to pitcher Scott Feldman.

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Fortunately, the barrel of Bryant’s broken bat was caught high on the protective netting at Wrigley Field. The only problem was the bat refused to come down, which created a challenge that the crew at Wrigley Field clearly wasn’t prepared for.

What followed was an exercise in futility as employees tried to figure out a safe and successful way to dislodge the bat.

Naturally, the first thought was to shake the netting, but that didn’t work. Then they decided to start firing baseballs in the bat’s general direction, hoping the movement would cause it to break loose.

Needless to say, that did not work either. But with the umpires trying to move the game along they kept on trying anyway.

It was reminiscent of the day Buster Posey’s bat got stuck in the netting at AT&T Park last season, only that was after Posey lost his entire bat on a swing. Ultimately, it took a giant ladder — no pun intended — to rescue Posey’s bat, which he later used for a game-winning hit.

One full inning after the bat originally got stuck, the Cubs crew brought a giant ladder of their own to the scene to end the standoff.

It’s never not going to be scary watching a bat shatter knowing the potential danger it presents. But we’re thankful the protective netting did its job here, and even allowed us a few laughs once we knew everyone was safe.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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