It happened in the bottom of the 10th inning with bases loaded, two outs and the game tied at 1-1. Tigers pitcher Jose Cisnero threw a 96 mph fastball to White Sox batter Tim Anderson that seemed to cross up catcher Eric Haase, who was not expecting a pitch high and out of the strike zone. Haase tried to snag it above his head but missed, and the ball hit home plate umpire Cory Blaser square in the facemask, knocking him to the ground.
The ball dribbled away from home plate, but Haase was distracted by his concern for Blaser. That left Cisnero chasing after the ball with no one was covering home plate, allowing Yoan Moncada to score from third amid all the confusion and giving the White Sox a 2-1 victory.
Anderson helped Blaser to his feet, and White Sox trainers came out to check on him. Although he was a bit rattled, Blaser seemed to be OK and walked off the field under his own power. Meanwhile, the Sox will take the victory.White Sox walk it off on a ball that drilled the umpire’s face mask 🤯 pic.twitter.com/idttJ2jDQI
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 3, 2023
Home plate umpires have to be prepared for anything, as they can find themselves in dangerous and unusual situations. We are glad that Blaser was not seriously injured.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
