Dad drops toddler on head chasing baseball

A US man has offered a painful example of what not to do when he was caught on camera at a baseball game chasing a foul ball and sending a toddler crashing headfirst into the concrete.

The eyewatering impact came during a college baseball game on Sunday in South Carolina, between the Campbell Fighting Camels and the N.C. State Wolfpack.

When a Wolfpack player hit the ball into the pavilion area at the bottom of the seventh inning, our accident-prone papa lumbered into action.

As he ran to chase the ball it all went wrong.

The cameras rolled as he lost his footing and crashed into the concrete, the child’s head appearing to bear the brunt of the impact.

The moment was swiftly posted to Twitter, where opinion was divided on the man’s actions.

“Rule #1: Put the kid down first,” one commenter noted.

Another said the man was “not exactly dad of the year material” as others questioned the reception he received from the child’s mother.

“I see a divorce in his future,” one user quipped. “I bet mom was one hot mama!”

“That’s hard to watch,” said another. “Get your priorities in life straight. Baby > Ball.”

Others defended him.

“He didn’t do anything crazy, he just tripped because he was clumsy,” another user offer. “Stupid people trying to make a big deal out of this nonsense. What a joke.”

“Give me a break. This dad was trying to have a great experience with his kid at a baseball game while trying to catch a foul ball,” one man said. “Had he not tripped & fell, you either wouldn’t have posted anything or you’d be singing his praises.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission