San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt had to exit Friday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, after getting hit in the head by a pitch from Arizona’s Anthony Banda in the sixth inning.
Belt went down to the ground and held his head for about a minute, before coming to his feet and leaving the game, It was a breaking ball that just got away from Banda and was absolutely unintentional.
But even though it was an accident, Banda clearly felt terrible about it. The rookie left-hander crouched to the ground and held his glove over his face, before walking over to home plate to show his support for Belt.
Here’s video of the scary scene:
The Giants haven’t released an update on Belt’s status, but you naturally fear a concussion after seeing that. And that’s especially concerning for Belt, as he’s already suffered multiple concussions in his career. In 2015, he even had concussion symptoms remaining in the offseason that forced him to see a specialist.
Belt, 29, has been one of the most underrated players in baseball since 2013. This season, the first baseman has 18 homers, an .824 OPS, and 2.0 WAR according to FanGraphs.
Head injuries are something we — thankfully — take very seriously now in sports, and given Belt’s concussion history (as well as the fact the 42-69 Giants are nowhere near the playoff race), you’d have to think the Giants proceed with extra caution here.
Update: Belt was indeed diagnosed with a concussion.
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