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.