Baseball umpire Nick Mahrley was carried off the field in a neck brace in shocking scenes at Yankee Stadium on Sunday after he was hit in the back of the head by Giancarlo Stanton’s broken bat.
Stanton’s bat splintered as he hit the ball, but only snapped in two at the end of his swing, before hitting home plate umpire Mahrley in the side of the face and knocking his grill to the ground.
Replays showed the bat appeared to hit him on the side of the head and neck.
Mahrley initially tried to get up to watch the play unfold, but fell to the ground and after a lengthy medical stop, he was placed in a neck brace and carried off the field to cheers throughout Yankee Stadium.
The game was delayed about 16 minutes in the bottom of the fifth inning between the New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies.
Nick Mahrley was led out of the stadium in a neck brace in shocking scenes
Yankees batter Giancarlo Stanton’s bat broke and flew into the umpire’s face on his backswing
Sunday’s match was stopped for about 16 minutes to assist Mahrley.
When play resumed, crew chief Marvin Hudson took over behind the plate. Second base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt moved from second base to first.
Mahrley, 41, worked 473 games as a referee before becoming a full-time referee before last season.
The Rockies tweeted: ‘We send our best wishes to umpire Nick Mahrley.’
The Yankees were leading 4-3 at the time of the incident, with Aaron Judge hitting his 50th home run of the season in the first inning.
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