Rangers mascot scares the daylights out of texting fan

There’s a warning issued in every baseball stadium prior to each game. While the words may differ slightly, the message is the same: “Please stay alert for flying bats and balls.” The Texas Rangers’ mascot, Captain, has heard this notice many times, and, apparently, he takes it pretty seriously.

So, when Captain saw a fan texting during Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, he sprung into action. Captain walked down the aisle with a stick. Attached to that stick was a rope. And attached to that rope was a fake spider. 

[Watch: Oof! Yankees fan fails to catch a foul ball three times.]

He found the distracted fan and dangled the spider right in front of her face. Mission accomplished! The fan freaked out about the whole thing, quickly abandoning her text. It was pretty clear that Captain’s prank was effective.

While the prank may have worked, we can’t help but ask whether it was mean. Even the announcers briefly pondered the same thing. The prank, while useful, is pretty terrifying. No one wants to have a spider dropped right in front of their face, even if it’s a fake one. The fan’s response definitely shows that.

At the same time, we respect Captain’s effort here. Is scaring the life out of a texting fan a little extreme? Yes. Did it produce a funny video we can all laugh about? Also yes. 

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It also sends a clear message to distracted fans. If you’re not going to pay attention at a Rangers game, you run the risk of Captain potentially giving you a heart attack.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik