It was the first and only lightning strike that day. He was the only one left standing. His left fielder, a good friend, was killed. Reitsma, who pitches for the Cincinnati Reds, counts himself lucky. I didn't feel a thing.
Lightning can be that way - fickle, unexpected and, in many cases, deadly.
Lightning kills about 150 people a year in the United States, said Rich Kithil, director of the National Lightning Safety Institute. Perhaps five times that many are injured, he said. It's so random, arbitrary and capricious. Skies were sunny, the air betraying no hint of a storm. Water sports are especially dangerous in stormy weather.