I have a fairly simple view of such acts. Yes, Molina was not where he was supposed to be. Yes, the umpire failed to enforce the on-deck rule. Yes, Christensen's pitching coach taught him to brush back opposing players trying to time his pitches. Yes, the head coach probably knew this. Blame, blame, blame.
HOWEVER....
Ben Christensen was a legal adult. He, therefore, should be held singularly and individually responsible for HIS decision to throw a fast ball directly at Molina's head. Molina was 15-25 feet off to the side. This was an intentional act intended to harm Molina. Perhaps Christensen did not understand the extent of the damamge he could cause, but he did understand that it would cause harm, and he did it intentionally.
This is a prime example of prosecutors not enforcing the law. Are we going to make on deck batters a protected class now?
Since the only legal recourse left is the civil suit, I hope the jury awards Molina $multimillion in punitive damages soley and individually against Christensen, so he is not let off the hook one iota by the financial resources of anyone else, and the judge garnishes Christensen's professional baseball wages to pay the award.
BTW, here are a number of internet articles on this act of thuggery...
http://www.buildyournet.com/jow/base...Ben&Agree=none
http://www.jred.com/benchristensen.htm
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ne...0723pease.html
http://share.sportingnews.com/voices.../20000508.html
http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi...317_39,00.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/m/ncaabb/new...nglawsuit.html
http://www.fansonly.com/channels/new...072300aab.html
http://www.totalsports.net/news/2000...0222.0487.html
http://www.sportsusa.net/shocking.htm