LOS ANGELES -- Home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley briefly lost consciousness after being hit under the jaw with a 96 mph fastball in the fourth inning of the Dodgers-Rockies game on Saturday night, and after a delay was taken from the field on an ambulance.
The pitch from the Dodgers' Brad Penny, the first of the inning with Garrett Atkins batting, ticked off the glove of Dodgers catcher Russell Martin. Danley went straight to the dirt behind home plate.
Shortly thereafter, players were ordered from the field and an ambulance was driven to the plate area, where Danley was placed on a stretcher after being attended to by Dodgers trainers Stan Conte and Todd Tomczyk.
The ball hit him on the jaw and he lost consciousness "for a couple of seconds," according to a member of the Dodgers' public relations staff, adding that when the ambulance took him away, he was coherent, breathing and conscious. Danley was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, and Dodgers medical personnel went with him.
Danley, 46, has been an umpire in the Majors since 1998. Saturday night's game was in his hometown of Los Angeles. He is the crew chief working with Angel Campos at first base, Brian Runge at second and Greg Gibson at third. Campos took over behind the plate.
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/ne...t=.jsp&c_id=la
