MINNEAPOLIS — First-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt was struck in the head, just above the left ear, by a line-drive foul ball from Tyrone Taylor in the seventh inning of Wednesday afternoon’s Mets-Twins series finale.
Wendelstedt lay on the ground for several minutes while Minnesota’s training staff tended to him. He was able to get up and walk off the field, holding a towel to the spot where he’d been hit.
Base umpires do not wear helmets on the field. Both first- and third-base coaches are required to wear helmets on the field, however, a rule instituted after a line drive to the neck killed minor-league base coach Mike Coolbaugh in 2007.
Wendelstedt, 53, is in his 27th season as an MLB umpire. His father, Harry, was a big-league ump for 33 years.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Doug Pensinger / Getty Images)