We often take it for granted that baseball requires one person to throw a ball 90-100 mph in the direction of another person, presumably without trying to hit them.
We were reminded of what happens when that goes wrong on Wednesday when Minnesota Twins shortstop Kyle Farmer was hit in the face by a fastball from Chicago White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito.
In what the Twins initially called a jaw injury, Farmer hit the ground after a 92 mph pitch came up and inside, hitting in the face and knocking him down. Giolito clearly didn’t mean it as his immediate reaction was one of shock and horror.
Farmer stayed on the ground, laying face down for a few minutes before he was finally able to get to his feet and walk slowly to the dugout. A towel was pressed to the spot on his face where he was hit.
Willi Castro entered the game in Farmer’s place as a pinch-runner.
The MLB world was certainly shocked when the unfortunate pitch slammed into the side of Farmer’s face and they shared their concerns via social media afterward.
My god. The sound 🫣 https://t.co/uCmTocpDkt
— Scam Likely (@kanye_york) April 12, 2023
My goodness hope Farmer is ok #mntwins https://t.co/f9Psg6Oboy
— Rick Sosa (@sosarick) April 12, 2023
Flinched just watching this. Prayers to Kyle Farmer – hoping he's okay! Scary, scary moment https://t.co/YC9zyJXGz4
— Andrew Steele (@andrewsteeled) April 12, 2023
92 to the face? I’d be dead. https://t.co/UNDZX4pIVO
— Ryan Ohme (@OhmeWan_Kenobi) April 12, 2023
The Twins did end up winning the game over the White Sox, 8-4, though they’ll be much happier to hear if Farmer will recover from the scary injury.
[ESPN]
