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A Flying Baseball Bat, a Dad’s Instinct and a Photograph

A father stops a flying baseball bat that was inches away from hitting his son’s face. A photographer captures the moment. You can guess what happens next.

“It’s been crazy,” said Shaun Cunningham, 37, the father from Ocala, Fla., who has been declared a hero in several headlines. “The last 24 hours have been out of control.”

The near-hit happened on Saturday while Mr. Cunningham and his 8-year-old son Landon were cheering on the Atlanta Braves in a spring training game in Orlando against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Christopher Horner, a photographer for The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, took the photo that has ricocheted around the Internet.