A scary moment occurred Wednesday night at Tropicana Field whenTampa Bay Rays second baseman Will Rhymes collapsed and passed out on the field in the bottom of the eighth inning because of what the Rays called an adrenaline rush after he was hit in the elbow by a pitch thrown by Boston Red Sox reliever Franklin Morales.
Rhymes clearly was in pain after he was hit and was immediately tended to by a Tampa team trainer and manager Joe Maddon. After a few minutes, Rhymes trotted to first base while the Red Sox made a pitching change.
Rhymes then began to motion toward the Tampa dugout that he could not continue when he collapsed.
Rays first-base coach George Hendrick was nearby and was able to catch Rhymes before he hit the ground. EMTs came out and after approximately 10 minutes, Rhymes was alert and taken off the field on a golf cart.
“That stuff hurts,” Maddon said. “It’ll knock the wind out of you and take your breath away. When you get hit that well on the arm, it makes you want to throw up.”
Rhymes said after Tampa’s 2-1 win that he was fine and described what happened.
“I didn’t think I’d be able to throw the ball but I thought I’d be able to run,” Rhymes said after the game. “When I got to first, I started to get really dizzy and nauseous and that’s when I started walking off. Apparently I didn’t get very far.
“I was totally fine until I got to first. I assured Joe I was good to go. I don’t know if the adrenaline wore off or what, but I started to get dizzy and nauseous and that’s when I started walking off.”
Morales was clearly bothered by the incident and was concerned for Rhymes’ health after the game.
“That scared me too,” Morales said. “I tried to go in with my fastball. I hit him and I feel bad for him. I’m going to call him and talk to him. I want to know that he’s going to be fine. I feel sorry for him. I missed it and I’m sorry.”
“That was an ugly sight,” Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. “It was scary.”
Rhymes had X-rays taken on his arm at Tropicana Field and the results came back negative.
“I’m shocked,” Rhymes said of the results. “Morales throws 95-96 and that one was pretty firm and it hit me right on the bone because I kind of turned into it. It literally hit me square on the bone. They say it’s one of the strongest bones in the body, so thank God for that.”
Rhymes said it was the first time he has passed out.
“Hopefully it’s my last,” he said. “I told them I was Batman, just to mess with them.”
WRITTEN BY Joe McDonald | ESPNBoston.com & FULL STORY HERE
