Kerwin Danley
 

Anytime a fellow umpire goes down I think we all feel it. I just saw the replay. Best wishes to Kerwin and I hope he recovers quickly!

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10800467

Seconded.

Just saw it on Sportscenter. He seems to be doing okay by reports.

They made a little remark at the replay about Danley not wearing a HSM. And how exactly would that have helped?

Video now posted. Kerwin really took a shot when Martin was mixed up on the pitch.

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/me...00804272596704

I got the side of my neck just brushed 2 weeks ago by a foul in a varsity game. I saw stars and had a knot under my ear, behind the angle of my jaw for days. I do not wear a HSM. ( I wont argue that it's not better protection and view, It probably is)
In a self defense class I took, a "hammer strike" to the side of the neck is taught. It can interrupt the blood flow to the brain and can cause immediate unconsciousness.
Hope Danley is OK.

Here's an updated story from the AP, as of Sunday morning. Danley's fine: he lost consciousness briefly but was awake and alert when they put him in the ambulance.
http://tinyurl.com/62kg6u

Nice job by the catcher, Russell Martin, of ducking away from the pitch.

They made a little remark at the replay about Danley not wearing a HSM. And how exactly would that have helped?

As an ump who wears a HSM, I think I can answer that. Looking at the video from MLB.com of the incident, it appears the ball was breaking and got him in the jaw right behind his mask, perhaps farther back on his neck. From what I can see, I believe the HSM would have, as a minimum, deflected the ball. I think it would have taken the whole impact. His ears would be ringing, but otherwise minimal damage. When I come down into my squat, my mask and chest protecter virtually come together. There is a small seam where I can get hit, but I sincerly doubt I would take the hit Danleyy took. I AM NOT SAYING HE SHOULD BE FAULTED. The HSM is not for everybody, but by the simple virtue of covering more area, it is more protective.

I don't know why, but I can't get the link to produce video.

I went to Harry's the same year he did-- doggone awful to hear about this.

What did they call the pitch?

I also wear the HSM
 

It looked to me that the pitch caught him in the lower side part of the jaw. My HSM covers this spot better than a regular mask. If I'm guessing correctly about where it hit him I think the HSM might have deflected this particular pitch better than a standard mask.

This of course is just a guess.

I was viewing this in slow-motion and it seemed that Danley moved his head ever so slightly right before the pitch hit him. If that was, in fact, the case, then he got hit where he otherwise might not have.

I'm not 100% sure he moved his head, but the many times I've reviewed it, it sure appears he did.

"Ball". Campos gave the count "1-0" loudly and authoritatively before the next pitch.

And I bet not a soul in the game was expecting anything different.

Yes, he did move his head! It looks like an "Aww $hit!" move. In other words, he saw the train coming and tried to react. It could have cost him had he turned just a little more as he would have exposed his neck which may have been disastrous. Had he not moved, he would have taken the pitch dead center of the mask. The result may have been the same, however.