Imago
Source: MLB.com
Imago
Source: MLB.com
When a projectile is travelling towards you, at 97-98 MPH, the only thing that you can do is pray that it doesn’t injure you badly. And that is why the batters, catchers, and even the umpires behind the plate wear the protective gear, but all it does is reduce the damage. But sometimes, when luck is not on your side, things go wrong, like how it went during a game in Japan.
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In a game between the Yakult Swallows and the Yokohama BayStars, there was a major injury to the home plate umpire, Takuto Kawakami. Jomboy Media reported this incident and wrote, “A backswing struck an umpire in Japan in the head during a scary moment.”
Yakult’s batter, Jose Osuna, on a 2-1 pitch swung and missed the ball, but got a good piece of the umpire’s head. This happened because the bat slipped out of the batter’s hand and went straight for the umpire’s head. The umpire stumbled back and then collapsed to the ground.
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He struggled to sit up or even gain stability while on the ground. The medical crew rushed to the umpire with a stretcher. A tarp covered him on all sides, and someone treated him on the ground. They later carried him off on a stretcher and replaced him.
Scary moment as an umpire in Japan was struck in the head by a backswing pic.twitter.com/zc0WpuaoyK
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 16, 2026
The batter later posted on X saying, “I’m very sorry about what happened today when my bat hit the main umpire. I hope he’s well, I’m really sorry.” But this isn’t the first time we have seen such an incident.
During the Yankees-Marlins game in April 2026, umpire Ron Kulpa took a foul tip straight to his mask. The hit came off a high-speed pitch, and he stopped before walking away. He tried to muster the strength to stay in the game, but was removed minutes later. Reports later said he had a concussion and would be missing games under MLB safety rules.
Back in April 2021, umpire Brian O’Nora was hit in the head during the Rockies-Padres game. The bat slipped from the hitter’s hands and struck O’Nora directly on the head. They removed him immediately and diagnosed him with a concussion, forcing him to miss several weeks. Reports also suggested that he was under medical observation for a long time.
But one of the worst injuries came in 2008 when a brutal hit behind the plate struck umpire Kerwin Danley. A broken bat shard hit Danley in the face, causing serious injuries requiring surgery. He not only missed several weeks off the field, but reports suggested that there were fractures and significant facial damage from impact.
Danley again suffered a concussion in 2015 after taking another hit near his head. This second incident forced him to leave mid-game. Medical staff evaluated him immediately, confirming symptoms consistent with a concussion.
These reprated injures shows how close the umpires stand to danger and how there is still room for improvement when it comes to umpires’ protective gear.
The Phillies game umpire gets violently attacked after a chase
After the Phillies game, an umpire was brutally assaulted for chasing after a robber. A group attacked first base umpire Brock Ballou near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. The suspect grabbed his phone while Ballou was checking directions, as per the police report.
Ballou ran after the suspect toward 16th and Walnut, where both got into a fight. Police said the suspect punched Ballou many times in the head during that short fight.
Both men fell to the ground, and Ballou hit his head, which caused injury, reports said.
The suspect kept hitting him before running away, but Ballou’s phone was later returned. Police also said the same suspect stole from a store 30 minutes earlier and hit an employee.
Officers shared a video of the suspect and stated that they have still not caught him.
Even after getting hit in the head, police said Ballou’s injuries were not serious. Ballou worked the Phillies game the next night and handled first base without any issue.
He later worked as a home plate umpire in the same series, showing that he had recovered. But we have seen Ballou get in such incidents before.
Back in 2016, Ballou and umpire Cody Clark helped people after an RV crash on I-95. They stopped their car and helped those inside, as reported from that highway incident.
These moments and this attack show how fast things can change around normal baseball work. The next day, fans saw him, knowing he had been hit and still showed up.
