We often take it for granted that baseball requires one person to throw a ball 90-100 mph in the direction of another person, presumably without trying to hit them.
We were reminded of what happens when that goes wrong on Wednesday when Minnesota Twins shortstop Kyle Farmer was hit in the face by a fastball from Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito.
In what the Twins initially called a jaw injury, Farmer hit the ground after a 92 mph pitch came up and inside, hitting in the face and knocking him down. Giolito clearly didn’t mean it as his immediate reaction was one of shock and horror.
Farmer stayed on the ground, laying face down for a few minutes before he was finally able to get to his feet and walk slowly to the dugout. A towel was pressed to the spot on his face where he was hit.
Willi Castro entered the game in Farmer’s place as a pinch-runner.
The MLB world was certainly shocked when the unfortunate pitch slammed into the side of Farmer’s face and they shared their concerns via social media afterward.
My goodness hope Farmer is ok #mntwins https://t.co/f9Psg6Oboy
— Rick Sosa (@sosarick) April 12, 2023
The Twins did end up winning the game over the White Sox, 8-4, though they’ll be much happier to hear if Farmer will recover from the scary injury.
[ESPN]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.