Umpire John Hirschbeck takes a foul ball to the groin (GIF)

Home plate umpire John Hirschbeck was in the line of fire on Wednesday night, and his manly region got the worst end of a foul ball.

A.J. Pierzynski was up in the fourth inning of the Texas Rangers-LA Angels game and checked his swing on a pitch from Nick Maronde. He fouled the ball off, and it nailed Hirschbeck in the groin. The umpire went down as if he had been socked in the nuts by Johnny Cage.

There was a brief delay in the game to give Hirschbeck a chance to recover.

Pierzynski ended up walking in the at-bat, and the Angels mercifully got the next batter out to end the disastrous 9-run inning by Texas.

Turns out this is actually a regular occurrence for Hirschbeck.

And when he’s not getting hit in the junk, he’s getting nailed in the face:

GIF via @LoneStarBall
H/T Blaise in KC