Here’s an absolutely bonkers sequence of events in the world of baseball.
In Wednesday’s afternoon matchup between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, Anthony Rizzo hit what appeared to be a routine pop fly to left field. Reds outfielders Billy Hamilton and Adam Duvall both aggressively went for the ball, but got crossed up. Duvall outright missed the ball, and it slid past his glove and Hamilton in the face. Hamilton laid on the grass injured, while Rizzo decided to make the most out of the unfortunate play.
Rizzo quickly rounded the bases as Duvall ran after the ball which made its way to the left field corner. Rizzo’s aggressive base running served him well, as he came around to score and record an inside-the-park home run. Rizzo didn’t display the emotion you’d expect from the feat as he probably didn’t want to gloat while Hamilton was down on the field.
Trainers immediately went to check on Hamilton, who eventually left the game and was replaced by Tyler Holt in center field. Thankfully, Hamilton was able to walk off the field with Reds athletic trainer Steve Baumann by his side.
The Cubs tweeted out a gif about Rizzo’s home run but made sure to clarify they weren’t celebrating Hamilton’s injury.
We send our best wishes to Billy Hamilton, who was injured on the play. We did not intend to downplay or celebrate an injury.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 29, 2016
Hamilton’s injury status is unknown, but hopefully, it’s nothing that keeps him out of action for a prolonged period of time.
