Umpire Drilled By Errant Throw During Mets vs. Cardinals Game

Last night, during the game between the Cardinals and Mets, the first base umpire found himself in a less than desirable position.

On a ground ball to short, Cardinals shortstop Edmundo Sosa threw to first to try and nab Kevin Pillar. Umpire Junior Valentine was in just the wrong spot.

Valentine was laser-focused on the play, anticipating the moment where he would make the call. However, instead of finding its way into Paul Goldschmidt’s glove, the ball hit Valentine directly on the right side of his face.

Valentine dropped to the ground and was visibly bleeding. Sosa looked on in obvious concern as Harrison Bader and Nolan Arenado comforted their teammate. About ten minutes later, the bleeding had stopped and Valentine insisted on staying in the game, even smiling and showing that he was in good spirits.

“Junior is doing well. He’s been checked out and has no broken bones,” crew chief Jerry Meals said in a statement. “He was incredibly alert from the get-go. The blood seemed to stop fairly quickly, thankfully, and he was adamant that he was fine.”

“That was loud too,” said Adam Wainwright. “That was louder than anything I’ve heard an umpire be hit. I felt really bad for him. What a stud to stay in the game. His face was bleeding pretty good. The ball centered him up.”

It’s a good thing that Valentine was okay and able to remain in the game, but also that it wasn’t more serious. It was dangerously close to his eye, so it could’ve been a lot worse. It was nice to see him in good spirits too.

For more MLB coverage, click here.