Jose Bautista Injury: Early Word Good On Blue Jays Slugger

Tuesday night, Blue Jays ultrastar Jose Bautista was knocked down by a pitch that caught him in the helmet. Bautista went to the ground and took a few seconds before coming to his knees and, ultimately, walking off the field under his own power.

The big concern, obviously, is that Bautista may have sustained a concussion, which is the kind of thing that happens when hitters get hit in the head by pitches. But according to Mike Wilner, Bautista may have gotten lucky:

#Bluejays announce that Bautista was taken out for precautionary measures and is day to day. But then, who isn't? #jays

This is not the definitive word. This is only an initial report. Bautista will still presumably have to undergo a number of tests to make sure nothing's wrong. But what this is is encouraging, as it appears that Bautista came away from a scary incident just fine, if a little skittish.

Jose Bautista Injury: Slugger Leaves Game After Being Hit In The Head

Toronto Blue Jays all-universe hitter and 3B/RF Jose Bautista was hit in the head by a pitch from Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jake Arrieta Tuesday night. Bautista left the field under his own power, but was replaced in the game by John McDonald.

The offending pitch, in .gif form:

A reminder: batting helmets didn't always have those ear flaps hanging down. While the play was ugly, and we'll know more about Bautista after the team runs some concussion tests, it could have been substantially worse. Bautista walked off the field, accompanied by Blue Jays trainers.

One year after having one of the more amazing seasons in recent baseball history, Bautista has been even better this year, hitting .330/.466/.682 with 31 homers in 321 at-bats. If there's any consolation for Jays fans -- which there probably isn't -- it's that the pinch-runner for Bautista scored on Adam Lind's home run just a few pitches later.