Aug 31, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Angels trainers attend to Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward (3) after he sustained an injury while attempting to field a ball hit by Houston Astros second baseman Ramon Urias (29, not shown) during the eighth inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Did Angels Slugger's Injury Prove Astros' Ballpark Is A Health Hazard?

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Major League Baseball fans love the uniqueness of the 30 ballparks across the league. But sometimes, being different isn't necessarily a positive.

A quirky feature of the Houston Astros' home field, Daikin Park, became the talking point of the sport on Sunday, and not for a light-hearted reason.

Chasing after a Ramón Urías line drive in left field, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward thought he had room to go before reaching the wall. But the ball tailed back toward the line, where the infamous Crawford Boxes make a right angle with the deeper part of the left field gap.

Ward slammed face-first into the out-of-town scoreboard, made of metal, and instantly stopped pursuing the ball, clutching at his forehead and signaling for help. He was bleeding from a cut above his right eye and had to be carted off after receiving attention from teammates and trainers.

Jo Adell slams Daikin Park's metal scoreboard

The dimensions of the park, which likely tricked Ward into the collision, aren't changing any time soon. But the materials of the scoreboard are easier to change, and one Angels outfielder wants to see that change immediately.

On Sunday, Jo Adell slammed the Astros for having the metal scoreboard in play as a health hazard to outfielders across the sport.

"The bottom line, and I've talked about this before, but there should be no out-of-town metal scoreboard anywhere on the baseball field," Adell said, per the Associated Press. "It's the big leagues. Like this is ridiculous. A guy goes back to make a play, and he's got to worry about a metal fence. That's crazy."

Daikin Park is hardly the only place an outfielder can injure themself on a nasty collision with the wall. Fenway Park is another well-known example of a metal fence, with a hand-operated scoreboard and some odd cutouts. Wrigley Field has the famous ivy covering its outfield wall, but underneath, there's unforgiving brick.

So was Ward's injury enough to spur change in Houston? That remains to be seen, but unfortunately, it sometimes takes a memorable moment, good or bad, to spark a necessary conversation.

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This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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