Sportress of Blogitude
MLB

Photog snaps great pic of first pitch that drilled him in the groin

Jason Rowan
| August 17, 2017

Photographer Tony Capobianco became an arguably unwilling Internet sensation Wednesday night when he painfully became part of the story he was covering at Fenway Park.

Capobianco, a photographer for the Andover (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune, was standing off behind home plate to capture the moment cancer survivor Jordan Leandre threw the ceremonial first pitch before the Red Sox hosted the St. Louis Cardinals.

Leandre, a high school pitcher, saw his pitch sail high and wide, ultimately drilling Capobianco square in the — ahem — nether regions.

Leandre demonstrated an admirable self-deprecating sense of humor over his airmailed first pitch gone awry when taking to Twitter to acknowledge the gaffe.

Capobianco, despite presumably being in some semblance of discomfort, also took to Twitter to joke about the incident.

Capobianco also showcased how his pain may have been the price he had to pay to capture such a phenomenal photograph of the errant first pitch.

Well played.

The amusing incident Wednesday night at Fenway — at least for everyone other than Capobianco — wasn’t the first time that a photographer recently became as a big of a story as the one they were covering.

Sports photographers rarely get the credit they deserve for how their considerable talents contribute to sports media coverage. Although it’s too bad Capobianco had to take a pitch to the groin to do so.