Ichiro was hit just above the right knee yesterday with a pitch. Before the ball reached him he yelled out. It was funny especially if you’ve ever been hit by a pitch. I remember getting plunked once in a high school game. The home plate ump warned both teams before the game not to curse but when the ball hit me in the leg I said, “Fuck.” I looked back at the ump and apologized. He told me to go to first.
Here’s a piece by Tim Kurkjian over at ESPN on what it feels like to get hit by a pitch:
“There are two types of thoughts when the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand,” Indians outfielder Shelley Duncan said. “The first one, you see the ball, and about halfway to the plate, you have that ‘Oh s—‘ moment. If you don’t get ready for it, that’s when you get hurt. The other one is the pitch that you know right away, you are going to wear it. You can turn your body, you get ready to get hit, but it all happens so fast. You have to make the adjustment because one second you are calm, then a split second later, your heart is racing.”
Catchers have been known to yell, “Watch out!” when a pitch is headed for a hitter; the Yankees’ Russell Martin has done that more than a few times. Braves outfielder Matt Diaz said, “I’ve yelled, ‘Oh!’ when the pitch was headed at me because I was sure it was going to hit me, then it didn’t. I turned to the catcher, and he was laughing his a– off. The umpire was chuckling. I said, ‘I thought it was going to hit me.’ They said, ‘We did, too.'”
[Photo Credit: The Washington Post]
Good that that ump had a brain and didn't have a "zero tolerance no matter what the circumstances" mentality, which is too often the case these days, especially in schools.
I'll never forget my first at-bat in organized baseball, I was drilled on my left arm by the third pitch. I was a big kid and probably crowded the plate without realizing, nevertheless my friend on the opposing team nearly threw a fit on my behalf. I didn't say a word, just jogged to first with a frown as I stared down the pitcher. An inauspicious debut to what turned out to be a helluva year.
Great Little League story about getting hit by a pitch. Eight year old travel team, first practice, first time facing pitching from another eight year old. Now the pitcher had played and pitched the year before as a seven year old because he was a precocious kid, very athletic and very smart. First batter steps in, and gets plunked. Not hard but he falls to the ground, crying like you wouldn't believe, can't get a breath, not moving. All the kids in the field are as silent as death. Finally, the coaches get him up and the head coach says," OK, who's up next?" You can only imagine the looks on their faces. All the kids are looking at each other and no one makes any eye contact with the coach. Maybe you had to be there but it was pretty hysterical.