Intentional Torts and the Perils of Pitching

       On July 28, 1991, as New York Yankees rookie pitcher Scott Kamieniecki was getting set to pitch to California Angels second baseman Luis Sojo in a game at Yankee Stadium, a twenty-four-year-old exotic dancer named Laurie Stathopoulos strode onto the field and headed for the pitching mound. Upon reaching the mound, Stathopoulos planted a kiss on Kamieniecki's cheek. Kamieniecki, obviously distracted, let the baseball fall from his hands. Security guards quickly came to Kamieniecki's rescue and led Stathopoulos away.

      "Tort" is defined as a wrongful injury to person or property done willfully, or unintentionally but negligently. Assault and battery are two common types of torts. Stathopoulos' trip to the Yankee Stadium mound contained elements of both. An assault is an intentional act that creates a reasonable apprehension of harmful or offensive contact, a well-founded fear of peril. A battery is an intentional and unwanted touching or striking of another person for the purpose of causing harm.