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MLB Umpire Involved in Scary Situation During Mets-Twins

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Zach Kaplan | Last updated Apr 16, 2025 3:29 PM ET

In the 7th inning of today's Mets-Cardinals game at Target Field, first-base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt was hit on the temple with a line drive by Mets outfielder Tyrone Taylor.

In a disturbing and equally unfortunate turn of events, Wendelstedt, who wasn't wearing a helmet, found himself in the path of a scorching line drive by Taylor on the first pitch he saw from Louis Varland.

The 23-year umpire tried to put his hands up, but couldn't get out of the way.

Scary moment in Minnesota as @MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt took a line drive off his temple pic.twitter.com/vrcVnsKjC8
— Mike Lawrence (@AwesemYo) April 16, 2025

Fans sent in their thoughts for Wendelstedt, who recently eclipsed 3,000 career games umpired, with many remarking how scary and shocking the incident is.

It's not yet known how Wendelstedt is doing, but he got up under his own power and walked off with a towel pressed to his head. Wendelstedt was replaced by Adam Hamari after the game's delay.

The scary situation involving Wendelstedt is far from the first example of an MLB umpire being caught on the wrong side of a play.

In a game between the Rockies and Yankees last August, Nick Mahrley was struck in the throat by a splintered bat, forcing him to come off in a stretcher. In 2021, Junior Valentine was struck in the head by an off-balance throw by Edmundo Sosa in a game between the Mets and Cardinals.

The fact that Wendelstedt was able to walk off on his own power is a good sign, and one can only hope that he didn't suffer a concussion or any significant injury from this incident.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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