Angels Jo Adell blasts Astros over Crawford Boxes after Taylor Wards injury

Matt Sullivan

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Angels Jo Adell blasts Astros over Crawford Boxes after Taylor Wards injury image

Major League Baseball stadiums have some of the most unique set-ups in professional sports with their field structure. Nearly every stadium is different in some way, and the Houston Astros are no strangers to different dimensions.

Tals Hill was an iconic staple of Houston's stadium, though it's no more nowadays. But the Crawford Boxes remain and provide a challenge for left fielders. Unfortunately, during a recent game against the Los Angeles Angels, Taylor Ward of the Angels crashed into the fence trying to make a catch, injuring his head, forcing him to come out of the game.

After the game, Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher for SoCal News Group shared comments from Angels outfielder Jo Adell. He blasted the Astros for their out-of-town scoreboard in left field, going on an NSFW rant about the Ward injury.

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"He's doing what he's supposed to do," Adell said. "He's being aggressive on a play. At 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. It's the big leagues."

Adell continued, "This (expletive) is ridiculous. A guy goes back to make a play, and he's got to worry about a metal fence. That's crazy. So that's my honest opinion about it. He did everything he could to make a play, and he gets beat up by something that's beyond controllable."

The Ward injury was a scary one, as he ran face-first into the out-of-town scoreboard, which is metal. Andrew Chafin of the Angels ran out of the bullpen to cover Ward's face, which had begun bleeding.

After the game, Sam Blum, an Angels writer for The Athletic, reported that Ward had a "nasty cut" above his right eye, but overall, was feeling better. He also described it as a "best-case scenario" considering the on-field scare from the Sunday afternoon game.

But the moment still sparked Adell to call out the Astros, as he expressed frustration over the metal on the out-of-town scoreboard. While some stadiums around baseball have metal in the outfield, a lot of padding is used to protect outfielders.

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While not metal, the Chicago Cubs' ivy-brick walls in the outfield are also a dangerous thing to run into. But what makes the Astros' situation a bit different is that the Crawford boxes stick out more than the left-center field corner.

A fielder might be more prone to running into the left field wall, as evidenced by Ward running into the wall trying to make a catch. While no padding or changes will be made until the season is over, it's something that could be implemented in the future.

Adell, after his team beat the Astros 3-0 to go up 2-1 on the four-game series, blasted the Astros for their out-of-town scoreboard. He called for padding to be added and urged for change to be made for not just the Astros' metal scoreboard, but for all metal scoreboards around Major League Baseball.

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Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, predominantly covering MLB. Matt is a native of Pennsylvania and has worked with Athlon Sports, Last Word on Sports, and other outlets.