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Castillo trial: Man hit by baseball testifies about pain and injuries
DAYTON — For nine days after the baseball slammed into his left temple, Christopher McCarthy suffered from a throbbing headache, McCarthy testified Tuesday afternoon, July 21.
McCarthy, 45, of Middletown, was taken from Fifth Third Field to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was treated for a concussion. Julio Castillo, a pitcher formerly with the Peoria Chiefs is charged with two counts of felonious assault in the incident.
Castillo, 22, who is from the Dominican Republic, is on trial this week before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Connie S. Price.
McCarthy testified that he rode home with his eyes closed because of the pain.
“By that time, I had a very severe headache,” McCarthy said during questioning by assistant county prosecutor Tracey Ballard Tangeman. “The pain increased through the night. As the evening went on, it got worse.”
McCarthy had been sitting with his wife, his 7-year-old son and his nephew just above the Dayton Dragons dugout on July 24, 2008 when a brawl started on the field. At one point, Castillo ran off the mound and hurled a baseball toward the dugout, but it went high, according to prosecutors.
McCarthy said he saw the ball come toward him, but did not have time to react. The ball took out some of his hair and the stitching left marks on his scalp.
He did not lose consciousness, but “I was a little bit incoherent. I was not thinking clearly,” McCarthy said.
He could not read for the first three days and “I basically sat in dim light and tried to sleep,” he said.
He was able to do a little bit of work on the fourth day, but was not able to fully return until after nine days. Even then, he was limited, he said. McCarthy is a mechanical engineer who works in paper mills, and his head swelled up so much that his hard hat would not fit on his head,” McCarthy said.
During cross examination by defense attorney Dennis Lieberman, McCarthy said he had hired an attorney to pursue a civil lawsuit.
McCarthy also told Tangeman that he suffered from panic attacks starting in 1998, though they have been rare during the past seven years. He said he had one after he was struck by the ball.
“I was afraid of dying,” McCarthy said.
Prosecutors said Castillo was acting with anger when he threw the ball, and his intent was to hurt a member of the Dayton Dragons.
Lieberman told Price that Castillo did not intend to hurt anyone. As Dragons players, reacting to the brawl on the field, began to run out from the dugout, Castillo threw the ball toward netting in front of the dugout to keep them from joining the fight. The reason, Lieberman said, is that Castillo only speaks Spanish.
Castillo threw to ball to communicate to the Dragons that they should stay back, since he could not communicate verbally, but the ball sailed over the dugout and hit the spectator, Lieberman said.
The charges are second-degree felonies, each punishable by up to eight years in prison and a $15,000 fine. The indictments list “a baseball” as the weapon.
He has waived his right to a jury trial, meaning that Price will decide whether prosecutors have proven him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why the attorneys directed their opening statements to her.
Video of the fight showed Castillo throwing a baseball toward the Dragons’ dugout.
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Comments
By Dragons Fan
July 21, 2009 3:38 PM | Link to this
Mr. Castillo needs to find a better way of communicating.By Really bad pitcher
July 21, 2009 3:54 PM | Link to this
Wait, he’s a pitcher and he wasn’t able to hit the netting in front of the dugout but instead got it into the stands? That’s just sad. Sounds like with that kind of control he didn’t have much chance of being promoted to AA anyway, yet alone the majors.By flipper
July 21, 2009 4:00 PM | Link to this
Like I said earlier send him back to Dominican Republic on a slow boat. He can play bean ball down there.By Famousanous
July 21, 2009 4:01 PM | Link to this
When I want to tell a group of people something, I usually throw a baseball at them too.By Was at that game
July 21, 2009 4:06 PM | Link to this
Sad thing is there isn’t even a net in front of the dugout! Also the Dragon players didn’t “run out from the dugout” until AFTER he threw the ball. If you watch the video you can see that! He should be sent home and never be allowed to play ball again. That father had his son and nephew with him and those kids are scared for life. I had my son there and he doesn’t want to go to games anymore because the Dragon’s fight was so bad that game. I will never forget this game and the image will be in my mind forever (since we were in the front row of the dug out). Thank goodness none of us were hit! Go back to where you came from Castillo!!By Berg
July 21, 2009 4:06 PM | Link to this
All you have to do is youtube the video, he was not trying to warn anyone, he was trying to hurt someone, and he ended up hurting an inncoent fan. This kid lost total control that night and deserves to be punished.By Jones
July 21, 2009 5:12 PM | Link to this
I was at that game. He was out of control. There was no attempt at any communication, just anger. Both teams were out of control. Man up and pay the fine!By Just Saying
July 21, 2009 5:58 PM | Link to this
Maybe Castillo will learn to speak English while he’s in prison. Then he’ll be able to communicate more effectively.By odinhoy
July 21, 2009 6:19 PM | Link to this
If found guilty Castillo should serve time, no doubt, but he is facing 16 years. I guess he should have gotten drunk and killed someone like Dante Stallworth of the Browns did. He only got 30 days!By ump didn't help
July 21, 2009 7:39 PM | Link to this
Not to excuse his actions, but umpires who completely failed to control that game and the preceding game were a major contributor. They didn’t put the breaks on these guys as the behavior built up to the blow up.By Dave
July 21, 2009 8:32 PM | Link to this
16 years is a little stiff. You can rape a child and not get that long. How f’d up is the sytem?By just saying
July 22, 2009 12:05 AM | Link to this
dave-actually, you can get life for raping a child. additionally, this is one act, so the counts will probably merge, making the max into 8 years.