It takes less than a second, but there can’t be many experiences that are more terrifying for a baseball player than seeing a pitch beaming towards the head at triple-digit speeds. There’s no time to get out of the way, and the only hope is that the helmet stands up to the pitch.
Reds outfielder Blake Dunn went through all of that on Tuesday night. And thankfully, his helmet did indeed do its job.
Facing the Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning, Dunn took a 101.4 mph fastball off the head. Though there was no avoiding the pitch, Dunn managed to turn enough to ensure that the helmet took the brunt of that pitch.
Holy crap. 😱
And, somehow Dunn stayed in the game. pic.twitter.com/XXoxYRe7K8— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 12, 2024
Dunn clearly wasn’t pleased to get hit up high like that as it could have been a horrific moment. But Dunn was fine and walked to first base calmly while giving Clase somewhat of a staredown. He remained in the game as the Reds lost, 5-3.
After the game, Dunn spoke about the pitch and mentioned that it actually cracked his helmet. He said via cincinnati.com:
“Yeah, just hit me square into the helmet and then glanced off,” Dunn said. “Cracked it a little bit. But, it did its job. I got hit in the head a couple of times last year, but none of them squared me up. One of them like went underneath the back of my helmet and cut the back of my head, but I haven’t had one where it like totally squared me up and was also hard enough to crack the helmet too. … I know (Clase) throws 100 to 101. It’s pretty consistent. So I knew once it came up and in, I was like I better try to get out of the way of this. You really can’t because of how firm it is and how fast it gets on you. Luckily, like I said, at least I was able to turn my head so that it was able to hit the helmet and not my face.”
MLB fans, though, were mostly stunned that he was OK after that.
This was how Twitter/X reacted
list of things to NOT experience: a Clase fastball to the head https://t.co/fAh96PORtq
— Brendan (@bchells22) June 12, 2024
101 to the dome and he just walked it off? Sounds like a hockey player to me. https://t.co/S9SH5lrrgH
— Garrett Talbert (@SJSharkFinatic) June 12, 2024
A slight smirk after getting hit by a 101mph straight to the dome is asinine. https://t.co/gTBLkALBi7
— KingofJUCO (@KingofJUCO) June 12, 2024
no going to lie, I figured he was dead https://t.co/yl9CmWoxQG
— Mike (@MikeBCSN) June 12, 2024
My guy STOOD up and walked. https://t.co/yFD0YFitSJ
— Billy Bowling 𝕏 (@babowling12) June 12, 2024
Been there before… not fun 🥴 https://t.co/DPwIVvionY
— Stefan Jarrín (@StefanJarrin) June 12, 2024
I was watching this game
he just… walks it off 😳 https://t.co/YG9dR0EL5K
— Justin Klekamp (@JustinKlekamp) June 12, 2024
Legendary moment. https://t.co/teqcKiVHWU
— Chris (@inthewry) June 12, 2024
Someone go check on the ball. This dude is tough. My goodness https://t.co/i46RLRvTEt
— danK (@dakernal27) June 12, 2024
Not sure what’s more terrifying, 101 to the nugget, or dude just getting up and casually strolling down to 1st https://t.co/Bzeu4sf5ro
— JOBES (@JobesJacobe) June 12, 2024
Someone really should check on that baseball to see if it’s OK.
