During a softball game when I was a teenager, I had a teammate who hit a foul ball, and next thing we all knew, the home plate umpire was on his back, his face beet red. We quickly learned that the foul ball had caught the umpire between the legs — an especially awkward occurrence for a male umpire at a high school girls’ softball game. While everyone waited for the umpire to regain his bearings, girls in both dugouts were noticeably working hard not to giggle too loudly. I felt bad for the guy.
It’s not uncommon for a player to get hit by the ball at some point in a game. However, as in situations like the one above, sometimes it is one of the umpires who gets hit. Someone put together the compilation video below of MLB umpires getting hit by the baseball, and watching it is like watching a train wreck. You feel bad for them, but somehow, you can’t stop watching.
