An extremely scary scene unfolded at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon when home plate umpire Nick Mahrley had to be taken off the field on a stretcher after being struck in the neck by a broken bat.
It happened in the bottom of the fifth inning when Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton hit a single into left field. As Stanton made contact, his bat splintered off at the handle with barrel section flying back and striking Mahrley.
He immediately dropped to the ground and remained in serious distress for several minutes. The Colorado Rockies players and all of the Yankees base runners left the field while Mahrley was being tended to at home plate by trainers.
After having his neck stabilized he was taken off on a stretcher.
The game was delayed while crew chief Marvin Hudson put on the home plate umpire’s gear to take over. The game was continued with only three umpires on the field.
It is a harsh reminder as to how dangerous of a job it can be behind the plate for both catchers and umpires. Not only with foul balls coming back and potentially hitting them, but also with bats.
Earlier this season we saw St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras suffer a broken arm when he was hit by a swing.
Umpires might be focal points for criticism, especially when it comes to calling balls and strikes, but that can still be a very thankless and difficult job. It’s also a dangerous one.