Marlon Jerrard Byrd (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians.

Byrd is a 1995 graduate of Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia, and won All-State honors in baseball and football.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania heard the case, and two of the judges affirmed the judgement, holding that while such gifts to the fans are not part of gameplay, they are a common enough aspect of baseball games today that the Baseball Rule, which limits teams' liability to spectators injured by foul balls, applied to Byrd's throw as well.

[3] "I do not doubt that Marlon Byrd threw the ball that hit [a]ppellant without malicious intent," wrote the dissenting justice, John Bender.

"[But] if a baseball player wants to go beyond the confines of the game and provide a gratuitous souvenir to a fan, he should be charged with the obligation of doing it in a reasonably safe and prudent manner.

Byrd was signed as a free agent by the Rangers on December 8, 2006, to compete for the starting position in center field.

[5] After failing to make the Rangers' major league roster out of spring training, Byrd was assigned to the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks.

Byrd's contract was purchased on May 26, 2007, following injuries to outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Jerry Hairston Jr.[6] Making the most of his call-up by hitting over .400 for the month of June,[7] Byrd played his way into the line-up, allowing the Rangers to trade center fielder Kenny Lofton prior to the trading deadline.

After the pitch hit him, Byrd dropped to the ground, covered the area by his left eye and rolled in pain; he was helped off the field by Cubs medical personnel and taken to the trainer's room in the clubhouse.

[11] After coming off his stint on the disabled list, Byrd wore a protective mask customized to his helmet in order to shield his weakened facial bones.

On June 9, Byrd was designated for assignment by the Red Sox in order to make room for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was returning from the disabled list.

In the 2013 National League Wild Card Game, Byrd went 2-4 with a home run and 2 RBI, as the Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6-2.

On August 20, 2015, Byrd was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Double-A reliever Stephen Johnson.

[22] Byrd hit the Giants' record-breaking 8th grand slam of the season against the Cardinals on August 28, against Michael Wacha.

[23] After becoming a free agent following the 2015 season, Byrd signed a minor-league contract with the Cleveland Indians on March 18, 2016, with an invitation to major-league spring training camp.