Ichiro leaves minor-league game after getting hit in head by pitch
Ichiro Suzuki suffered a bit of a scare during a minor-league game on Friday when he was struck in the head by a pitch.
Ichiro just took a pitch off the helmet on the backfield pic.twitter.com/P4rAkzpWwn
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 23, 2018
Ichiro, who recently signed a deal to return to the Seattle Mariners, was removed from the game, but things could have been much worse. Some laughs were heard as he was lifted to his feet:
You can hear Ichiro laughing a little as he talked to trainers before getting helped up. He’s being taken back to the clubhouse pic.twitter.com/h5csMRvaRz
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 23, 2018
The Mariners said Ichiro is "doing well" after being evaluated by doctors, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com. He will be reassessed tomorrow to determine if he can be cleared for the Mariners' game against the Chicago Cubs.
Ichiro, 44, played the first 1,844 games of his MLB career with the Mariners and was looking to kick off the regular season patrolling the team's outfield with Ben Gamel on the shelf with an oblique injury.