The sound was familiar to Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt, but the bloody mess that ensued was not.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of a 5-4 win over the Angels on Thursday night, Angels pinch-hitter Jefry Marte swung through A’s reliever Sean Doolittle’s first pitch and lost control of his bat, which struck home plate umpire Paul Emmel on the top of the head.
Emmel stumbled backward, fell to the ground and began bleeding profusely. Two Angels athletic trainers rushed to Emmel’s aid and applied a towel to the cut.