Giancarlo Stanton Injury: Marlins Star Hit In The Face, Rushed To Hospital
Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins suffered a terrifying injury on Thursday when right-hander Mike Fiers of the Milwaukee Brewers hit him in the face with an errant pitch.
The incident happened in the top of the fifth inning during the contest in Miami. After the pitch struck Stanton on the face, he fell to the ground and stayed there for nearly five minutes before medical staff finally lifted him on a stretcher. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors determined that he suffered extensive injuries to his face.
Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reported that “Stanton suffered a facial laceration requiring stitches, multiple facial fractures and dental damage.”
The Giancarlo Stanton injury set off a bizarre series of events in the game. Because Stanton’s bat crossed the plate as he recoiled in self-defense in an attempt to avoid the pitch, the umpire rule that it was a strike rather than a hit by pitch.
Stanton’s replacement, Reed Johnson, was then hit on the hand on the next pitch by Fiers, though umpires again decided that Johnson swung his bat and called strike three.
The second beaning led to both benches clearing, and though no players ended up involved in any scuffles, Marlins manager Mike Redmond was ejected.
“I’ve never seen a guy get hit in the mouth and called for a swing,” Redmond told reporters. “For the first-base ump to say he swung at that pitch, when [Stanton is] coughing up blood… what a joke.”
Fiers said that both pitches were unintentional, and his actions seemed to back that statement. Fiers was visibly shaken after hitting Giancarlo Stanton, and appeared to still be tense when he took the mound again.
Afterward he apologized to Stanton, reiterating that he did not mean to bean him.
“I just want to send my thoughts and prayers to Giancarlo Stanton,” he said, his voice cracking. “You never think of throwing at somebody like that. Never in my life has that happened. I just feel very, very sad that I hit him. I’m sorry to [his] teammates, their fans, his family. It’s just tough.”
The Miami Marlins have not given an official update on the Giancarlo Stanton injury or how much time he could miss.
[Photo via Yahoo Sports]
