Buffalo Bisons catcher Payton Henry is “alert and appropriately responsive” after taking a backswing to the head Friday night against the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium, the team announced.
The Bisons — the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays — said Henry was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated after he was stretchered off the field.
Payton is currently alert and appropriately responsive. We will share any further information as it becomes available. https://t.co/DvFOUtS4tr
— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) June 1, 2024
In the bottom of the seventh inning and the Mets up 4-2, Henry was hit by Syracuse third baseman Pablo Reyes and immediately went to the ground. He rolled onto his back and was quickly tended to by the Buffalo medical staff, who carried him off the field after a delay.
The game was called after that, with the Mets taking the official win.
Henry’s injury is the latest in what has been an uptick in catcher injuries around professional baseball.
In late April, Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe dealt with a badly bruised shoulder that left him hardly able to lift his arm after getting bounced by a foul ball. A week later, he left a game with a right hand contusion after taking a foul ball off it.
San Francisco Giants catcher Patrick Bailey took a foul ball on the exposed area of the toe where the foot shield doesn’t cover in April. Three days later, he landed on the concussion injured list after taking a foul ball to the face mask.
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Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras was struck by the swing of New York Mets’ J.D. Martinez in early May, sustaining a fractured left arm because of it.
“There’s always a risk being a catcher,” Contreras said after the injury. “Could have been something different. It could’ve been off my knee, it could be a concussion. That risk is always going to be there.”
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