MINNEAPOLIS — Veteran umpire Hunter Wendelstedt went to a hospital for further examination Wednesday after he was struck in the face behind first base by a line-drive foul ball.
Crew chief Todd Tichenor, who called home plate during the Minnesota Twins’ 4-3 victory over the New York Mets, told a pool reporter after the game that Wendelstedt was coherent and speaking but going through a concussion protocol.
“Hopefully it’s just some stitches,” Tichenor said.
Major League Baseball said Wendelstedt was undergoing additional tests.
“We are encouraged that he was in good spirits when he was in touch with our medical staff,” MLB said. “We will continue to monitor his status.”
The incident spooked everyone on the field.
“It made us all stop and think,” Tichenor said. “That hit him solid in the head. It was scary.”
Wendelstedt instantly hit the ground after he took a direct hit from the line smash off the bat of Mets center fielder Tyrone Taylor in the seventh inning. Both Taylor and Twins right-hander Louis Varland winced immediately after seeing where the ball hit Wendelstedt, who is in his 28th season as a major-league umpire.
The 53-year-old Wendelstedt was down for a couple of minutes while Twins medical staff tended to him and was able to slowly walk off on his own, pressing a towel against the left side of his head. Second base umpire Adam Hamari moved to first on the three-man crew for the remainder of the game.
“It happened so fast,” Twins first baseman Ty France said. “Just praying for a speedy recovery for him because you never want to see something like that happen.”
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli expressed his concern too.
“I would like to wish him the best and say we’re all thinking about him,” Baldelli said. “I was glad to see him walk off the field under his own power. That was better than the alternative. We hope he’s OK.”
MLB has required base coaches to wear helmets since 2008, the year after Mike Coolbaugh was killed after being struck in the neck by a line drive while coaching first base for a Texas Rangers minor-league affiliate.
Tichenor said he didn’t think umpires needed to start wearing helmets.
“This one was just 100 mph off the bat,” he said. “We’re taught to go opposite the ball. He just went into the ball. It happens. We all do it. It just doesn’t hit him in the head usually.”
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