Some of the Scariest Moments of MLB Pitchers Getting Hit in the Head [GIFs]

After J.A. Happ took a line drive to the side of the head, people instantly started revisiting the “should pitchers wear helmets” question again. It’s a valid question and definitely some sort of head protection needs to be considered for the future. By the time a pitcher finishes his windup and has released the ball, he is nearly 10 feet closer to the plate than the 60 feet 6 inches he started out at, and has about a third of a second to react to the ball coming off of the bat.

There have been quite a few pitchers that have taken hits to the head. There has been at least one incident a year since 2008.

*Warning, some of these are tough to watch.

2013 – Blue Jays’ J.A. Happ

2008 – Padres’ Chris Young was hit in the face on a line drive by Albert Pujols.

2009 – Dodgers’ Hiroki Kuroda was hit by a Rusty Ryal line drive.

2009 – Giants’ rookie Joe Martinez was hit in the temple on a Mike Cameron line drive.

2010 – Indians’ David Huff was hit just above the left ear on an Alex Rodriguez liner.

2011 – Rockies’ Juan Nicasio was hit by an Ian Desmond line drive that broke his C1 vertebrae.

2012 – Athletics’ Brandon McCarthy suffered a terrible hit to the side of the head on an Erick Aybar liner.