Umpire Greg Gibson left Wednesday’s Angels-Indians game after being spiked near the eye by Torii Hunter on a freak play.
Hunter was attempting to score from first on a double by Kendrys Morales in the bottom of the fifth. As he went diving into home plate, he angled his body away from home plate to try to avoid the tag from catcher Carlos Santana. Hunter’s right leg flew into the air and his cleat caught home plate umpire Greg Gibson in the side of the head.
Gibson began bleeding near his left eye immediately after being spiked by Hunter’s cleat. He was treated by a medical team and exited the game, leaving the umpiring crew down a man. Umpire Manny Gonzalez moved from first to home to replace Gibson.
Angels announcer Victor Rojas said on the telecast that Gibson received stitches for the cut and that he was taken to the hospital for precautionary X-rays.
We frequently get on umpires for making horrible calls like this one, but Wednesday’s incident is a reminder that the job — especially for umpires behind the plate — has its hazards.
