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]