Inside The Mets

Mets outfielder sends sad message about hitting umpire in head with line drive

New York Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor addressed his role in an umpire's head injury.
Grant Young|
Feb 25, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; New York Mets right fielder Tyrone Taylor (15) returns to the dugout against the Houston Astros during the fourth inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 25, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; New York Mets right fielder Tyrone Taylor (15) returns to the dugout against the Houston Astros during the fourth inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

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New York MetsMinnesota Twins

A scary situation took place during the New York Mets' April 16 game against the Minnesota Twins. Outfielder Tyrone Taylor was hitting off of Twins pitcher Louis Varland in the sixth inning when he smacked a line drive down the first base line.

The line drive hit first base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the side of the head, which immediately sent him to the ground. Minnesota's Target Field was stunned silent while Wendelstedt lay on the ground, where he remained for several minutes while being attended to by his fellow umpires and a Twins training staff member.

Wendelstedt ultimately was able to leave the field of play, and the game continued with three umpires. After the game, Taylor spoke out about his unfortunate involvement in this incident.

“I saw it like I was watching it in slow motion,” Taylor said of the incident, according to an April 16 article from Mike Puma of the New York Post. “It was just scary.” 

He later added, “It feels like it was my fault."

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If there's any good news to be gleaned from the article, it's that Puma quotes the game's crew chief, Todd Tichenor, saying that Wendelstedt was "coherent, speaking," after the incident occurred.

It's too bad to hear that Taylor is assuming blame for a situation he had no control over. The bottom line is that baseball can be a dangerous game at times, especially at the highest levels.

Luckily, it seems that Wendelstedt avoided a more serious injury, which should hopefully make Taylor feel better about what went down.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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