Umpire bloodied by errant throw to head
Cardinals shortstop Edmundo Sosa airmailed a throw so badly in the second inning of last night’s game against the Mets, that it hit unsuspecting first base umpire Junior Valentine in the side of the head, knocking him down and keeping the ball in the infield.
Sosa made an impressive spinning grab on a grounder up the middle by Kevin Pillar. But the subsequent throw to first was uniquely bad, hitting Valentine squarely on the side of his head.
The umpire, intently staring at the base, didn’t see the ball coming.
Somehow, bleeding out of his face,
Valentine stayed in the game after being attended to by trainers.
The batter on the play was fully familiar with the pain of a sudden baseball to the head. Pillar broke his nose when a pitch hit him in the face earlier this season.