Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Jakob Junis was rushed to the hospital after being struck in the neck with a ball during batting practice in a freak accident Monday, the team said on Twitter.
Junis was “conscious, alert and responsive. He was sent to the hospital for further evaluation,” according to the tweet.
Brewers pitcher Jakob Junis was hit in the neck by a batted ball during batting practice. He is conscious, alert and responsive. He was sent to the hospital for further evaluation.
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 22, 2024
The insane series of events is wildly rare. I mean, an injury in batting practice? We’re talking about practice?
For real though, I can’t remember ever hearing about a guy getting hurt in batting practice. Little muscle tweak? Maybe. But a full-on ball to the neck? How does that even happen? It’s exceedingly rare for a Major League pitcher to be throwing live batting practice to his team’s hitters. Especially during the season. Junis’ injury here is a prime example why. (RELATED: ‘Collegiate Ohtani’ Making Waves With Insane Home Run Streak)
Junis, who the Brewers signed in the offseason, was already on the injured list and hadn’t pitched since April 2 with a shoulder injury. Life just added insult to injury for the veteran right-hander.
Junis is coming off the best season of his career statistically. He logged a sub-four earned run average with the San Francisco Giants in 2023, albeit in only 86 innings pitched. But his 10 strikeouts per nine innings were also a career-high, indicating an upward trend for the 31-year-old hurler.
Hoping for the best for old Double J here. You’d hate to see a guy’s career go downhill because of something so strange as this.