Friday 5: Kelly Nash

It was just a normal day working at the ballpark for Kelly Nash.

After doing her job, she took a trip over to the Green Monster, got ready to take a self-portrait of herself when, well…this.

HOVG:  Alright, I know it’s been asked countless times already…but walk me through what happened.

NASH:  I was working at Fenway before the Red Sox-Astros game on a feature for our show “Inside the Rays: Sam Fuld”. After reporting from the field pre-game, we had downtime to explore the park. It was my first time at the historic stadium and ecstatic is an understatement of how excited I really was. While taking pictures from the section above the Green Monster, my producer had been making me aware of homers during batting practice that were heading our way. None of them really hit close enough to scare me. So I turned around to take a picture of myself with Fenway behind me to text my Massachusetts-born parents. After taking a few, we headed out of the section because a tour group was coming in. When I went to attach the photo to a text for my parents, I saw the last photo I took had the ball. Near my head. I showed my producer and an usher who was at the top of the section. Neither could believe it. I showed Boston Red Sox Production team in the press box, they weren’t interested in the photo, so I tweeted it through my Instagram account. And here we are.

HOVG:  Just hours after you published your picture to Instagram, media outlets like ABC’s  “Good Morning America”, the Huffington Post and even People magazine have covered your story.  In an era of overnight web celebrities (A.J. Clemente comes to mind), are you surprised that one near-miss has garnered so much attention?

NASH:  I am shocked the photo commanded this much attention. Worldwide, I’m hearing? I chalked it up to being a slow news day on Monday. People were tired of more drama surrounding Tim Tebow.

HOVG:  And speaking of all that attention, what has been the dumbest question that you’ve been asked.

NASH: “There must be a photo expert who could tell you the distance of why the ball is so clear and you’re so fuzzy?” I can’t even comment on that question. It’s just ridiculous. This picture is being entirely over analyzed. It was a freaky, surreal, nearly-dangerous moment in my life captured on my iPhone 5. And for me, if it can bring some smiles to Boston after what they have been through, that will make listening to all this skepticism worth it.

HOVG:  “Bludgeoned” and “murdered” are just a pair of the words that have been used to describe what almost happened to you.  In all sincerity, how close was the ball to hitting you?

NASH: Because I did not see, feel, or hear the ball I have no way of answering this question. It is just one of the bizarre mysteries of the photo that will never be known. There was a ball found in the first row (behind me), likely the one in the picture.

HOVG:  Please tell me that you got a nifty little souvenir out of this whole ordeal and not just fifteen minutes of Twitter fame.

NASH: I have what we think is the ball. But obviously the photo is the best Fenway souvenir of all.

HOVG:  Oh…bonus time!  Are you glad I opted to avoid using the term “selfie”?

NASH: You have no idea. I don’t have one “selfie” on my Instagram account besides this one. People are making me out to be a “selfie queen”. Seriously? What a joke.

Prior to the 2013 season, FOX’s Sun Sports welcomed Kelly Nash as the newest addition to their Tampa Bay Rays crew.  Prior to joining Sun Sports, she worked for the ACC Digital Network, West Palm’s CBS 12, the NFL Network, Raycom Sports and ION Television.  You can keep up with Nash via both Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.