Nine-year-old bat boy Kaiser Carlile dies after on-field baseball accident

PLAYERS have paid tribute to Kaiser Carlile, the nine-year-old bat boy who tragically died after he was struck in the head by a player during a game.

KAISER Carlile, the nine-year-old bat boy who was accidentally struck in the head by a player, has died.

Kaiser was with his Liberal Bee Jays as they competed in the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas, when the tragedy unfolded Saturday.

Kaiser, who was wearing a helmet, had just retrieved a bat during a game when a Bee Jay player in the on-deck circle accidentally hit him, witnesses said.

The home plate umpire happened to be a paramedic and he treated Kaiser until an ambulance arrived.

“With the permission of the family, and with much sorrow and a very broken heart, I regretfully inform everyone that Kaiser Carlile passed away earlier this evening,” the team announced on social media.

“Please keep his family and our team in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you all for the support during this ordeal!”

Kaiser’s father Chad Carlile said: “He was competitive, but in the same breath, he cared about everyone.

“That’s what it is, it’s the love that he had for the game.”

‘It is terrible to see you leave in such a way’. Kaiser Carlile tragically died on Sunday.

The Bee Jays are in the Jayhawk Baseball League, which fields teams made up of college players who show off their skills using wooden bats to pro scouts.

Baseballer Kadon Simmons posted a tribute on Instagram, saying Kaiser was a “little brother I never had”.

“You took the field with us every game this summer,” he wrote. “You were, and always will be a Bee Jay. No person or team could ask for a better bat boy. It is terrible to see you leave in such a way, but knowing your last moments were on the baseball field makes it easier through this whole process, because you were doing what you loved.

“It hurts to see someone so young and with so much heart pass like you did, but you are now in God’s hands, and being the bat boy for the angels up above. We all love you, and you will be greatly missed. R.I.P. Kaiser Carlile.”

Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt told USA Today: “It’s a terrible tragedy. I feel so terrible for the teams involved, the family, the little boy, anyone involved.”

This Kaiser Carlile card is abailable at tonight's game. All proceeds go to the family. Very cool. #kwch12 pic.twitter.com/kvHICxptBq

— Will Kunkel (@KWCHWill) August 5, 2015

— with AP

Originally published as Nine-year-old bat boy Kaiser Carlile dies after on-field baseball accident