Bat boy, 9, dies after struck by bat at NBC World Series

The world of baseball continues to mourn the tragic death of nine-year-old bat boy Kaiser Carlile who was accidentally struck by a practice swing during a game at the weekend.

The grieving family even attended a Bee Jays game Sunday night but chose not to tell the team that Kaiser had died until play had finished so as not to distract them. A spokesman for the National Baseball Congress says the child was wearing a helmet, which is mandatory.

Kaiser was with his Liberal Bee Jays as they competed in the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas, when the tragedy unfolded Saturday.

“The guys out there have said, ‘We have to go out there and play because that’s what Kaiser wants us to do, ‘” he said.

Fernando Salazar/The Wichita Eagle via AP The family of Kaiser Carlile honor him before Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Studs.

“I think we’re all kind of in shock at the moment with the rest of the community and focused on expressing our heartfelt sympathies for all the family and the friends, and the folks involved with the tournament”, Evans said.

Kaiser was accidentally struck by a bat during a game Saturday night, and died in a Wichita hospital the next day, shortly before the Bee Jays took the field.

Home-plate umpire Mark Goldfeder, who is a longtime paramedic, treated the boy until an ambulance arrived.

The Bee Jays are in the Jayhawk Baseball League, which fields teams made up of college players who show off their skills using wooden bats to pro scouts.

“We just lost a little, 9-year-old Bee Jay and it’s incredibly sad”, Carlile said.

Kaiser’s parents met with the team’s players after their son died, and urged them to keep playing in the series, Carlile said.

“You took the field with us every game this summer”, he wrote. “Our staff, first of all they are employees, so with that there’s an extensive training that goes on preseason, what to look for, what to be aware of”.