Plate umpire Nick Mahrley had to leave Sunday’s game between the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies in the fifth inning after being struck in the neck by a piece of Giancarlo Stanton’s broken bat. The incident occurred when Stanton hit a bloop single to left field, causing the barrel of the bat to hit Mahrley on the left side of his mask, knocking it off.
Mahrley fell to the ground immediately and received attention from the Yankees’ athletic training staff. Medical personnel came onto the field to assist Mahrley, who was then placed on a stretcher while the crowd showed their support with applause.
Following the injury, crew chief Marvin Hudson took over as the plate umpire, with second base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt moving to first base. Mahrley, 41, had worked 473 games as a call-up umpire before becoming a full-time umpire last season.
At the time of Mahrley’s exit, the Yankees were leading 4-3 in the game.
