Instances of attacks by fans during competition have been rare over the years.

The most notorious one came when the tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan in April 1993 during a match in Hamburg, Germany. ''I happened to be watching years ago that tennis match on TV when Monica Seles was stabbed,'' Gamboa said.

On Sept. 28, 1995, Cubs reliever Randy Myers was charged by a 27-year-old bond trader who ran out of the stands at Wrigley Field.

Myers saw the man coming, dropped his glove and knocked him down with his forearm. The two were rolling on the ground near the pitcher's mound, and Myers had the man pinned when several Chicago players broke up the fight.

Gamboa is in his second season on the Royals' staff. He was the Chicago Cubs' third-base coach in 1998-99.

Kansas City was on its way to just its fourth victory in 17 games when the game turned ugly. With a runner on second in the top of the ninth, Michael Tucker bunted back to White Sox pitcher Mike Porzio for the first out. Suddenly, the two fans ran onto the field, tackled Gamboa and began punching him.

''They had to come from right field or behind first base,'' Gamboa said. ''It was definitely from behind because next thing I knew, I was on the ground.''

Gamboa said one of the men was speaking, but he could not tell what he was saying. ''He was yelling something, but it was incoherent,'' Gamboa said. ''It just happened so fast.''