Wattenbarger

Plaintiffs appeal from a judgment of dismissal following an order granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs seek damages for an arm injury suffered by plaintiff Wattenbarger during a major league baseball tryout conducted by defendants. The trial court concluded plaintiffs’ claim is barred by the doctrine of assumption of risk. We shall reverse.

I

Defendant Cincinnati Reds, Inc. (Reds) owns and operates a major league baseball team. Defendant Jeffrey Zimmerman is the Reds’ Central and Northern California supervisor of scouting.

On June 28,1990, Zimmerman supervised a “tryout” for the Reds in Lodi, California, in which players aged 16 to 21 were invited to participate. Plaintiff Jeffery Wattenbarger, who at the time was 17 years old, read a notice of the tryout in a local newspaper and attended. Having pitched for his high school baseball team the last two seasons, plaintiff wanted to become a pitcher for the Reds.

Upon his arrival at the tryout, plaintiff signed a waiver of liability form which included a space for the signature of a parent or guardian. Plaintiff’s mother was not present and did not sign the form. Plaintiff was nevertheless…