Oakland beat GWB's former plaything, the Texas Rangers, in a ten-inning thriller on Monday night. But it was Frank Francisco's chair-throwing antics that captured all the headlines.

It was the top of the ninth at Network Associates Stadium when Alfonso Soriano clubbed his second home run of the night to make it 5-5. Then It Happened. Watching the Fox Sports Net coverage on delay on Tuesday afternoon my time, it just seemed like all hell broke less between the Rangers bullpen and the A's spectators. Then, amid the melee, a chair flew into the crowd, apparently thrown from the field. A female fan was seen to have a large wound on her nose as the result of the incident.

With players being hustled away by umpires and officials, and with the crowd being warned to settle down or forfeit the game, there was a delay of 19 minutes before play resumed. Into extra innings, Texas scored and then Oakland equalised in the bottom of the tenth before an Eric Chavez single brought Nick Swisher home for the winner. ESPN.com, as usual, has all the match facts.

Nick Swisher, what a great name, he could be an opening batsman for England with a name like that. It's only ten days since the Oakland organisation called him up from the Sacramento Rivercats.

It transpires that Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco, the AL Rookie of the Month of August, was the chappie who wielded the ballboy's chair. Latest word is that Francisco was taken to the big house, charged with aggravated battery, and released on $15000 bail. His immediate playing future is unclear.

Reportage of the incident:
Skirmish delays A's win: Oakland Tribune
Chavez's single ends a wild night: San Francisco Chronicle
Bizarre altercation as A's beat Rangers in Oakland: Capital News 9 (Albany, NY), includes video clip of incident
Editorial: Baseball should come down hard on stadium violence: Madison Daily Leader (Wisconsin)
Reliever charged with felony battery: ESPN.com
Husband of injured fan: It was 'normal heckling': Dallas Morning News, includes police mugshot of Francisco.

The San Francisco Chronicle website's sports page leads today with the headline "Monday, Bloody Monday", while ESPN.com's Ray Ratto described the incident as a Jerry Springer moment. ESPN also has a handy guide to baseball player/fan altercations through history. (Ty Cobb and the Babe both appear on the list.)