In June 2003, I attended Sammy Sosa's first road game (at Camden Yards in Baltimore) after the corked bat incident.

Early in the game, while the Cubs were in the field, a fan hopped out of the stands, ran into fair territory no more than 20 yards from Sosa, and got down on his knees - as fans whooped and hollered.

The man pulled off his shirt to reveal he had something taped to his torso. It took a while, but we eventually figured out it was cork. Clever. But quite troubling.

Even more troubling was the fact that security did nothing for what felt like an eternity. Sosa stood there staring at the guy who remained on his knees as he held his hands in the air in front of 32,000 people. And stood there. And stood there. And stood there.

It took so long for security to act that I turned to Dusty and said, "It would seem they may want to go get that guy." And we waited. And waited. And waited until they finally dragged him off without further incident. Luckily.

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I thought of that game this week amid debates, defenses and denunciations of boorish behavior by fans - both here at WV23 and across the Internet and mainstream media - prompted by the vomiting incident in Philadelphia and the at turns playful and meanspirited booing of the Brewers fan at Wrigley.

As some have pondered the danger to politicians borne of angry populism, it is useful to wonder: at what point will a fan take a shot at a player - beyond prompting a melee with a bullpen or throwing batteries at players on the field.

The worst we have seen is the charming Ligue family beating Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa in the middle of a game, but how far are we from seeing a deranged fan attack or shoot an Alex Rodriguez, Milton Bradley or any other player they imagine is making their mess of a life somehow worse by taking steroids, striking out too much or losing track of how many outs there are in an inning?

At what point does fan behavior in America's ballparks become too much? It's already reached a point where I'm not comfortable taking my sons to games in Philadelphia. (Washington was fine, but that's only because we could go around and introduce ourselves to the 435 other Nationals fans in attendance.)

There are three main parties who can help answer that question - the teams, the fans themselves and the journalists who shape public opinion. At what point will they come together and say "Enough is enough"?

The teams who overserve fans and do too little to police unruly behavior in the stands.

As a Philadelphia-area resident, I can say I have yet to go to a Phillies where there wasn't a fight, a near fight or blatant jackassery nearby that prevents me from taking my sons to the game. And that's not to mention the guy who was killed outside the ballpark last year.

The old Yankee Stadium had an alcohol-free section in the outfield and they seemed to make plenty of money. The same couldn't be done at Wrigley or other ballparks - if not for the entire bleachers then a significant section? Shane Victorino would certainly appreciate it.

The fans who believe drunkenness is a prerequisite for a pleasurable ballpark experience?

Really, guys? You can't go to a ballpark without puking on a little girl? Or dropping f-bombs at the top of your lungs? Or threatening fans of the visiting team? Spending $100 doesn't entitle you to do that. Honestly.

Fans feel entitled to act out in such ways because a.) they paid $40 for their ticket and $63 for seven beers and b.) players make a lot more money than they do.

The media who help perpetuate resentment of ballplayers based on salary, personality or other personal bugaboos.

The jihad the Paul Sullivans of the world have against certain ballplayers is well documented. And tiresome. For all involved.

And then there are those journalists who insist there is no problem at their hometown ballparks because there are problems at ballparks all across the country. See John Gonzalez of the Philly Inquirer today. This is akin to saying murder isn't a problem in Detroit because people are killed in Newark or Gary. Right.

This, of course, is not to say Sullivan or any other journalist (or blogger) bears primary or even secondary or tertiary responsibility. But the the day in, day out feeding of the meme that Milton Bradley, Carlos Zambrano, Roger Clemens or any other player is the personification of evil is an enabling factor in the burgeoning nuttery of fans.

By demonizing or dehumanizing the object of resentments or obsessions, it makes any behaviors toward that person acceptable.

Including violence.

Perhaps it's time to tone down the rhetoric; it certainly isn't helping you sell any more newspapers.

Taken together, it seems like it really is only a matter of time before something truly tragic happens at a ballpark - as, with all things, envisioned by Wesley Snipes.