Mariners fan hit in head by foul ball dealing with social-media backlash

Sofia Schwarzwalder, The Seattle Times on May 18, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SEATTLE — Getting hit by a foul ball at a baseball game is more common than you probably think.

But unintentionally capturing the exact moment on camera? It would be tough to calculate those odds, but it’s safe to say it’s a rare occurrence.

That’s what happened to Seattle Mariners fan Jamie Golla, 33, on Friday night. She was at T-Mobile park with a group of friends for the first game of the Vedder Cup series when a foul ball came off Padres third baseman Sung-mun Song’s bat in the fifth inning and nailed her in the head.

Golla’s friend Michaela Pollard was filming a selfie video to send to a friend. By chance, she captured the moments leading up to, during and after Golla was hit. The video, which Pollard posted to social media with her friend’s permission, has been viewed on Instagram more than 27 million times since Friday. In addition to managing a headache from the hit, Golla is also navigating the widespread reactions, including hate," that have come as a result of the video.

“There are people wishing me a speedy recovery, but there’s also a lot of hate that comes with social media," Golla said. “There are people telling me to pay attention, calling me names, body shaming me and friends, being sexist and bringing politics into it too, which I really don’t understand.”

In the first moments of the clip, Golla is pointing up and looking at the foul ball before she notices Pollard filming. She turns to the camera, starts talking and is almost immediately hit in the head with a foul ball.

The crowd around her exclaimed with horrified groans as Golla grabbed the top of her head and winced.

“Are you OK?” Pollard asked her friend.

The group of friends were sitting in section 138, a couple rows up from the visitors' dugout. Protective netting is in place from section 115 to 146 at T-Mobile park and the height varies by location. In Golla’s section it was 13.5 feet above field level.

Fans who catch a ball (or end up with one by other means) get to keep them. Golla went home with hers on Friday.

"However, batted balls can be dangerous and we ask that Guests stay alert at all times," the T-Mobile Park information website reads. "If Guests would like to lessen their risk, the Mariners will exchange tickets for one in the View Level prior to the first pitch being thrown.

There is limited data and research available on how often fans are hit or injured by foul balls, especially in recent years, at Major League Baseball games. In 2014, Bloomberg conducted a study and reported that 1,750 fans are injured by foul balls each year.

The ball went over the net on Friday night. Golla said she had been watching the game and tracking the ball but stopped when she thought it had gone into the club level or upper deck. The video shows that right before Golla is hit, a fan in the row behind her turned away from the field with his hand up.

Golla said the staff at T-Mobile Park responded quickly after the incident, getting her an ice pack and asking if she wanted additional medical attention. Golla initially said no, thinking the pain would get better with time. But after returning to her seat, she began to feel dizzy and nauseous.

Her friends helped alert ballpark staff, who got her a wheelchair and called an ambulance. She was taken to the Harborview emergency room. Golla said she is doing OK but is still dealing with a headache and swelling. She plans to monitor her symptoms and check in with a doctor this week.

The video gathered traction across social-media platforms over the weekend. It sparked debate over safety nets, paying attention and more. It also drew comments that were unrelated to the incident about Golla’s appearance and baseball being “a man’s sport.”

Golla added that her friend offered to take down the original post, but it has been so widely circulated it won’t make much of a difference.

“It’s social media, so what can you do?” Golla said. “Everyone wants to give you their two cents, but I’m just focusing on not letting it get to me.”

There have also been comments in support of Golla, pointing out that the odds of this scenario playing out are low and that it could happen to anyone.

Some people speculated that Golla was looking to sue the Mariners, which she said is not the case. She returned to T-Mobile with her daughter for Sunday’s game, and said she felt the need to apologize to T-Mobile’s staff because “everyone’s making it a bigger deal than it is.”

Golla and her daughter sat in right field for Sunday’s game. She hadn’t realized that the seats were in a prime location for a home-run ball, which left her slightly uneasy.

“I just noticed that everyone around me, they were on their phones, they had their backs turned,” Golla said of Sunday’s game. “Not everyone is always paying 100% attention to the game itself. We’re all there to have fun, so it’s unfortunate that I got all this backlash.”

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