Looks like it’s injury season in baseball. Most of the time, it is the MLB that is in focus when it comes to injuries, but this time, it is Nippon Professional Baseball. Just a day ago, there was an injury to the home plate umpire in the Yakult Swallows and the Yokohama BayStars game after getting hit with a bat. This time, it is a player, and the injury did not look good.

During a game between the Chunichi Dragons and the Hanshin Tigers, star 3rd base player Hiroki Fukunaga suffered a bad injury. A fan posted the video and wrote, “Fukunaga’s accident. He hit his head, I’m worried… I can only pray for his safety. Come back safely.”

In the third inning, Yuki Fukunaga chased after a fly ball in the foul territory near the 3rd base line. He went at full speed, tripped near the photographer’s area, and fell face-first into the camera. He stayed down, and the umpires reacted quickly, going to check on the player.

The umpire immediately called for a stretcher after seeing that it was a head injury. Fukunaga was taken off the field and rushed to the hospital.

After the game, the Dragons’ manager, Kazuki Inoue, said, “He is bleeding. It’s a laceration to his head… It’s related to his head. We can only hope that the examination will show that it’s nothing serious.”

The manager ruled the player out at least for the next few games and said, “Given that condition, there’s no way we’ll be using him tomorrow or the day after.”

Now the attention shifts to the doctors and what their reports will tell. Because we have seen how concussions can ruin a player’s career.

Former Reds player Ryan Freel suffered multiple head injuries during his baseball career. This was a result of his aggressive style of diving catches and collisions with walls while going after catches. After his retirement in 2009, his close ones said that he had behavioral and cognitive issues, which are often associated with post-concussion effects.

After his passing in 2012, Boston University in 2013 examined his brain and found chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) due to repeated head traumas. And it looks like the NPB is taking measures to keep the players and everybody on the diamond safe.

Nippon Professional Baseball takes urgent measures to control head injuries

After the injury to the home plate umpire, it looks like the NPB is making sure things don’t get serious again.

A scary moment happened in Nippon Professional Baseball in the game between the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and Yokohama DeNA BayStars when umpire Takuto Kawakami got hit during an at-bat. It happened in the eighth inning, when the game was already deep and still competitive.

Swallows batter Jose Osuna was at the plate during that moment. Pitch speeds in NPB often reach around 140 KMPH (87 MPH).

The league called it an “extremely serious matter,” which shows how bad the impact was. Medical staff reached him within seconds, following normal emergency steps used during games.

Osuna swung at the pitch, missed it, and the bat slipped from his hands. The bat hit Kawakami on the left side of his head, near the temple. Doctors say hits in that area can cause instant blackout because it is very sensitive.

There was no intent, so the umpires did not call any interference under the rules. Players and fans went quiet as doctors treated Kawakami behind covers on the field.

NPB shared a statement on April 17 and said they will review umpire safety rules. The league said he was using a wired mask, which does not cover the whole head. They are now looking at helmet-style masks that give better protection in these situations.

This moment could push NPB to make real changes, so umpires stay safer going forward.