Cardinals infielder Edmundo Sosa entered Monday night with the 10th highest defensive WAR in the National League, regardless of position. Perhaps that meant that first base umpire Junior Valentine wasn't expecting the throw that was to come in the second inning of the Cardinals game against the Mets... and that ended up resulting in some pain.
That's a play I can't recall ever seeing, and it was a huge relief that Valentine got up and shook it off without too much apparent pain. There's definitely going to be a mark, though Valentine was apparently able to clean up the blood before it became an issue that took him out of the game.
Of course, umpires need to be ready for anything, be it an errant throw, a broken bat, a wild pitch or any of the other potential health hazards on the baseball diamond. Valentine's scare wasn't the first that we've seen, and it certainly won't be the last.
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