Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Minor leaguer takes jersey off to prove he was hit by pitch

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 5/29/23

A minor league baseball player had to go to some pretty ridiculous lengths to prove to an umpire that he was hit by a pitch.

Jack Reinheimer, an infielder for the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League, was hit by a pitch on the arm during Saturday’s game against the Lancaster Barnstormers. The home plate umpire seemed unconvinced, however, apparently believing that the pitch hit Reinheimer’s bat and not his arm.

Reinheimer wanted his free base, so he went above and beyond to prove that the pitch hit him. He removed his uniform top on the field to show the umpire the bruise on his arm. Amazingly, it worked, as Reinheimer was immediately awarded first base.

The umps were second-guessing if the batter was hit by the pitch so he stripped down to prove it and they gave him the base pic.twitter.com/p5GbSBV4oT

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 27, 2023

If you got drilled like that, you’d probably want it to be worth the trouble, too, especially with the game in the 11th inning. The ump probably should have figured that out without such drastic measures being required, but all’s well that ends well.

If there is one clear lesson from all this, it’s that baseball players will go to major lengths to prove their point to umpires.

H/T Uni Watch

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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