VIDEO: Joe West Gets Tagged in the Head By Bo Bichette's Bat, Leaves Game
Joe West opted-in to the 2020 MLB season but the veteran umpire may be regretting that decision right now.
West was behind home plate during the first inning of the Washington Nationals' matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday and wound up injured. Bo Bichette fouled off a fastball from Erick Fedde and on the follow-through he nailed the 67-year-old umpire on the side of the head. It was so bad West was bleeding and the game needed to be stopped.
Check this out:
Joe West just got bat-mangled pic.twitter.com/S1SJQvk3Px
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 30, 2020
Another angle:
Here’s the clip of Joe West getting hit after Bo Bichette lost his bat. West was able to walk off the field on his own. pic.twitter.com/xbvyP1DqE2
— (Poetic) Justice delos Santos (@justdelossantos) July 30, 2020
And some stills:
Joe West hit in the head by a bat in the first inning of the Nationals/Blue Jays game pic.twitter.com/18Hn4U58pO
— Bandwagon Sports (@wagon_sports) July 30, 2020
joe west just took a bichette back swing to the side of the head and was laughing about it. the absolute madman! pic.twitter.com/7DoVcoLueM
— Jonestown Massacres (@JTownMassacres) July 30, 2020
I've seen umpires take balls or bats off the mask but I'm not sure I've ever seen one draw blood after getting tagged by a follow-through.
Obviously after an injury like that West had to leave the game. For his part, Bichette wound up doubling once play resumed. Clearly he was unaffected.