A Japanese umpire remains unconscious more than two weeks after being struck in the head by a flying bat, according to the AFP.
Takuto Kawakami reportedly underwent emergency surgery after being hit with a bat that escaped a batter’s hand during an April 16 game and landed in intensive care.
He has since been transferred to the general ward of the hospital, the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB) told reporters, per the AFP.
Kawakami suffered the injury in his first game as a home plate umpire — per the AFP — after the Yakult Swallows’ righty first baseman Jose Osuna lost control of his bat while fouling off a 2-1 offering in the eighth inning and the bat struck Kawakami in the face from the left side.
The umpire immediately lifted his face mask before falling to the ground, with the DeNA BayStars’ catcher immediately attending to him before two others quickly rushed to Kawakami.
The other umpires made their way toward their injured comrade while an individual carried a stretcher board onto the field, with the noise from the crowd of 28,678 noticeably diminishing.
Players stood and watched while a blue perimeter was established around Kawakami.
Kawakami quickly went to the hospital and underwent the emergency surgery, according to the report.
Osuna, a 33-year-old Venezuelan first baseman who spent four years in the majors with the Pirates from 2017-20, offered an apology on X after the scary situation.
“I’m very sorry about what happened today when my bat hit the main umpire,” he posted April 16. “I hope he’s well, I’m really sorry.”
He went 2-for-4 in the Swallows’ 2-0 win.
The NPB called the situation an “extremely serious matter,” last month, and said it would begin a safety review of the equipment being used by its home plate umpires, according to Yahoo.
