Being a major league umpire can be a pretty risky job in terms of physical health. On any given pitch, a home plate umpire has to deal with the possibility of getting hit by a pitch directly or by a ball fouled off. With potential exit velocities of over 100mph, that could cause some serious damage.
But, one thing that they don’t expect is to get hit by a bat, something that did happen to a major league umpire on Sunday when Giancarlo Stanton’s bat shattered, striking him in the face.
The umpire behind the plate in today’s Yankees-Rockies rubber game of their three-game series was Nick Mahrley. What should’ve been a routine Sunday at work turned into a nightmare.
Take a look at what happened.
Umpire is being carted off after Stanton’s barrel broke off and hit him in the neck pic.twitter.com/9STm3IFYHc
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 25, 2024
First off, Giancarlo Stanton is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, hitter in MLB. Baseball Savant has him with the fastest bat speed in the league and 99th percentile average exit velocity. While he didn’t get hit by a ball, that would impact the force that bat hit him with.
They needed to stabilize Mahrley’s neck. It was a pretty scary scene.
Home Plate Umpire Nick Mahrley with his neck stabilized is carted off .. hopefully it's precautionary and he's okay#Rockies 3 #Yankees 4 🔻5th pic.twitter.com/xfcwOSKsVl
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) August 25, 2024
After six innings, the Yankees led 4-3.
Thoughts are with Nick Mahrley to make a full recovery.