For the second time this month, an Orioles player has been hit in the head by a pitch.
After Heston Kjerstad was hit in the helmet July 12 against the New York Yankees, Orioles catcher James McCann on Monday was hit in the face by a 94 mph fastball in the first inning of Baltimore’s doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Blood was gushing from McCann’s nose after Yariel Rodríguez’s errant pitch ran up and in and struck the veteran backstop. After a lengthy delay and many towels to clean up the blood, McCann changed his blood-soaked jersey and remained in the game to cheers from Orioles fans at Camden Yards.
James McCann is a legend for this. pic.twitter.com/C6FBFVqF9a
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 29, 2024
With his left eye swollen and nasal plugs up his nostrils to stop the blood flow, McCann caught the final eight innings of the Orioles’ 11-5 win — earning frequent applause from the Baltimore faithful and even more respect from his manager and teammates.
“That was a scary scene and shows you how tough that guy is,” skipper Brandon Hyde said. “To get hit like that, to have blood not stop coming out of his nose, his mouth … the blood wasn’t stopping but just a really, really scary scene. He is incredibly, incredibly tough. He goes and catches eight more innings after that.”
Hyde and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel rushed out as McCann was on the ground, bringing towels to clean the blood and nasal plugs to slow further bleeding. During the 15-minute delay, McCann was evaluated by Ebel and deemed OK to remain in the game.
“If he stays in the game, he is the toughest guy in the world,” analyst Ben McDonald said on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network broadcast.
Hyde said after the game that McCann does not have any “head or eye trauma” but the club is assuming he has a broken nose. McCann will get a CT scan Tuesday and be evaluated by Baltimore’s ear, nose and throat specialist, Hyde said.
“All signs right now are we dodged a major bullet,” the sixth-year manager said, adding that the Orioles continually checked on McCann throughout the game.
“You see it happen to other guys,” McCann said with his left eye almost completely swollen shut. “It’s no fun to see it happen to your teammate, or even an opponent. To have it happen to you, it stinks.”
McCann kept his nasal plugs in as he caught newcomer Zach Eflin, whom the Orioles acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. He grounded out in his next plate appearance after getting a loud standing ovation from Baltimore fans. McCann hit a bloop single down the right field line in his third trip to the plate despite the impairment to his left eye, the one facing the pitcher when a right-handed batter is in the box.
The first question to Eflin after the game was about how he pitched in his Orioles debut — six innings of three-run ball and a win — but the right-hander wanted to talk about his new catcher instead.
“Honestly, before we even talk about the outing, what a leader James McCann is,” Eflin said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that on a baseball field. I just became his probably No. 1 fan. To be able to go through that and stay in the game and show the grit and determination and competitiveness that he has, it’s inspiring. That was awesome.”
Several players in the Orioles organization posted on social media to commend McCann’s toughness, including Triple-A Norfolk reliever Nick Vespi and injured starting pitcher Tyler Wells.
“I would go to war every single day for James McCann,” Wells posted. “But after seeing that, I am convinced that I would absolutely useless to him. That’s the toughest SOB I’ve ever met. And he just proved it right there.”
McCann, an 11-year veteran and the oldest position player on the team at 34 years old, said he was glad he “grinded through it” and played the rest of the game. At first, it was “more scary than anything,” he said, but after the game he compared it — and his injuries — with “taking a pretty good punch.”
A doubleheader poses challenges for catchers since most teams only carry two. An injury removing McCann from the game would have likely resulted in Adley Rutschman catching the final 17 frames of the twinbill — almost unheard of in the modern game. If McCann had suffered an injury, the Orioles could place him on the injured list between games and activate taxi squad catcher David Bañuelos, but a spot on the 40-man roster would need to be cleared for Bañuelos. When Kjerstad was hit earlier this month, he was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list.
“It did, but at the same time, I feel like I would have battled through as best I could even in just a single game,” McCann asked if it being a doubleheader factored into his desire to remain in the game. “I take a lot of pride in being tough and grinding through things, and today was no different.”
Hyde said McCann remaining in the game was emblematic of the type of leader he is for the Orioles. It reminded him of a game last June when McCann caught several innings on a sprained ankle — an injury he missed a few weeks for — because Rutschman was serving as the Orioles’ designated hitter.
“No doubt,” Hyde said. “We don’t have a ton of veteran leadership in that room, or guys that have played for that long.”
The hit by pitch was the 43rd and final one Rodríguez threw in his ineffective first inning as the right-hander walked four batters and allowed four runs. Rodríguez was booed as he walked off the mound.
After Eflin’s scoreless first inning, Rodríguez walked the first three batters he faced — Colton Cowser, Anthony Santander and Gunnar Henderson. Ryan Mountcastle, who drove in four runs in Sunday’s win, then smacked an RBI single, and Santander scored on Jordan Westburg’s groundout. Rodríguez gave the Orioles two more free runs by walking Ramón Urías with the bases loaded and plunking McCann.
So at least the catcher received an RBI to go along with his bloody nose.
