St. Louis 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.
Valentine got up and shook it off without too much apparent pain. He stayed in there the entire game and got some major props.
"No one was expecting that. He was pretty far over there," Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright said. "That was louder than anything I’ve heard an umpire be hit. I felt really bad for him. What a stud to stay in the game. His face was bleeding pretty good. The ball centered him up."
Crew chief Jerry Meals also said after the game that Valentine "is doing well."
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Valentine had a large shiner on his face the rest of the game and was apparently able to clean up the blood before it became an issue that would have forced him to leave.
Mets outfielder Kevin Pillar stayed at first base and Sosa wasn't charged with an error on the play.
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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