UPDATE: Philip Humber hit in face by line drive

UPDATE: On the Omaha Royals Facebook page, the following update was left this afternoon: “Philip received stitches in a few places and was in an extreme amount of pain, but came through and handled himself incredibly. He will make a full recovery.”

Hooray!
**********

I recently started working in the gift shop on my days off from on-field duties. Since then, the way I experience Omaha Royals gamedays has changed dramatically. Tending the shop keeps us plenty busy, so I don’t have time to watch the games. But today, I was sent forth from the shop and into the stands to sell some koozies. So I saw a few minutes of the game, and what I saw was horrifying.

After striking out Norris Hopper to start the inning, Omaha starter* Philip Humber gave up two doubles, a single and a homer – four runs overall. Then shortstop Luis Cruz came up, and lined Humber’s 4th pitch right back to the mound – and into Humber’s face. Humber went down immediately, and from where I stood in section B, it looked like he wasn’t moving.

*he didn’t come in until the 2nd because John Parrish threw the first as part of his rehab stint. But Humber was still essentially the starter. Such is minor league ball.

Pretty much every member of the coaching and training staff sprinted to the mound. The whole Omaha defense came in and gathered near the mound. Cruz paced up and down after the ump called him safe at first. That has to feel horrible.

After a few minutes – during which the stadium felt like a vacuum had sucked out all the air – Humber was helped back to the dugout, and the applause from the 6,000 fans was a heartfelt exhale. Greg Holland took over on the mound, and got out of the inning. Half an inning(ish) later, the between-innings break was extended while a golf cart came in from the left field wall to pick Humber up and take him to a waiting ambulance.

Kevin McNabb wrote on oroyals.com that Humber “was taken to a local hospital suffering from apparent injuries to his mouth.”

Someone who was nearby when Humber got on to the cart said there was blood EVERYWHERE, and it looked like maybe there were teeth missing? A teammate described the injury as a “big ass laceration on his cheek.”

But as far as the teammate knows, Humber is “okay, at least.” 

Related posts:

1. Thanks, and a photo update on my face
2. A Minor update
3. Brief update