Prayers Pouring In For MLB Umpire Nick Mahrley After Suffering Gruesome Injury

As a MLB plate umpire, crouching down behind a catcher, next to a hitter awaiting a variety of pitches at varied speeds and movements, isn’t exactly the easiest job in the world. It requires pristine attention to deliver a distinctive call. However, it’s not exactly the safest job at times either.

Nick Mahrley, who was the lead umpire in the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies Sunday day game, found that out in one of the worst ways.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with runners on first and second and one out, the Yankees held a 4-3 lead. On a 1-1 count, Rockies left-handed pitcher Austin Gomber delivered a knuckle curveball to right-handed Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton.

The result of the pitch was a bloop single to left field, loading the bases for the Yankees. But play was quickly halted after Mahrley was seen kneeling on the ground.

As Stanton swung, his bat broke and splintered upon contact. The upper portion of Stanton’s bat came back and hit Mahrley in the neck and throat area, causing him to immediately fall to the ground.

Mahrley was taken off the field on a stretcher and is undergoing evaluation by the Yankees’ medical staff.

Those on social media once seeing the injury, immediately started sending out prayers and well-wishes.

Though Stanton should not shoulder any of the blame, he is known for his mighty swing. Since the introduction of MLB Statcast in 2015, Stanton immediately topped the charts in exit velocity. This season, he’s averaging an exit velocity of 94.6 mph, according to Baseball Savant. In May of this year, he made the fifth-hardest hit home run in the Statcast era, hitting one at 119.9 mph.

Statcast also added bat speed to their array of stats, and to no surprise, the 34-year-old Stanton topped that list as well, averaging 80.6 mph , per ESPN.

Mahrley, 41, has worked 473 games as a call-up umpire. He became a full-time umpire during the 2023 season.