Outfielder can only laugh as "fan" comes onto field 3rd consecutive night

Above: Phillies' outfielder Jayson Werth tracks down a fly ball as a "fan" lands behind him on the warning track.

Philadelphia, PA--On Wednesday night, Philadelphia Phillies' outfielder Jayson Werth couldn't help but smile when a fan came onto the field for the third night in a row in South Philadelpiha. During the the previous two nights at Citizens Bank Park, two fans ran onto the field causing mixed crowd reactions and delaying the game for several minutes. The first night became a national news story, as a 17-year-old fan was chased and eventually tasered after failing to cooperate with police.

Before the game, fans were asking themselves if the Philly faithful would go for the hat trick and create an on-field disturbance for a third consecutive night. The crowd appeared distracted and on edge most of the evening in anticipation of who may venture onto the field. Security personnel reported more fans than ever bringing cameras into the game.

"The fans wanted to be ready for YouTube," laughed Paul Zeigler, a security guard stationed at the entrance near the east end of Ashburn Alley. "There was an unusually high number of picture and video devices brought in on Wednesday."

After seven innings of painful waiting, a fan came down from the right field, lower level seats. That is, a large, gray box fan. The 21" x 7" x 24", 12.8 pound fan was thrown onto the right field warning track as right fielder Jayson Werth pursued a fly ball into the corner.

"It was pretty clever," said a still-smiling Werth, as reporters gathered around his locker after the game. "Obviously, if it hit me or a real fan it would have been a different story. I was pretty focused on the ball and Shane [Victorino] yelled, 'Watch out.' And then, all of the sudden, this fan lands about 10 yards from me."

Werth played along after the game was halted, and, to the delight of the crowd, pretended to taser the disfigured cooling device as it lay in the red dirt in front of the padded outfield wall.

The Park's security is extremely concerned about the incident. Play was interrupted for almost 20 minutes as more than 25 security guards and police officers searched the seats for the culprit.

"At this time we are unsure of how a fan was able to conceal a large box fan and bring the device past security and into the stadium," said Steve Anderson, head of security for the Phillies. "Even if several fans brought individual pieces in and assembled the fan once inside, it would have been extremely difficult. These guys are good. In my expert opinion, it is unlikely their first time doing this."

Comcast SportsNet cameras caught Werth picking up the fan, and, after pretending to apprehend it, reading a note taped to the metal casing.

"I didn't realize there was a note on the fan at first," explained Werth, while taking the paper from his pocket. "It reads, 'Don't taze me because the high voltage of the taser could mess up my wiring, which could render me useless to someone during the hot summer months.'" (Police later confiscated the note from Werth.)

The fan, or fans, that threw the fan has not yet been found, but security personnel are examining the stadium's security tapes that were directed in the vicinity of the incident.

Notes: The Phillies said after the game that the team will auction off the fan and attached note at an upcoming charity event once the police no longer consider the device evidence. During the 9th inning, manager Charlie Manuel had the entire team sign the fan, which has made it more than difficult for police to locate a clean fingerprint.