Washington, D.C., May 1, 2008 – Annette Danley was in the box seats at Dodger Stadium last Saturday ordering a hamburger when she turned her head and saw her youngest son lying still on the field.
Startled, she said “that’s my baby!” then jumped from her seat and ran down toward the field where stadium security officers gently stopped her and sat her down in the Owner’s Box behind Tommy Lasorda. Mr. Lasorda tried to calm her down.
Mrs. Danley, 68, watched as stadium medical staff, umpires, and players raced toward her son, ten-year Major League Umpire Kerwin Danley. He lay unconscious behind home plate, having been hit in the head by a 96-mph pitch.
She was terrified. He wasn’t moving. A few minutes went by, and security officers brought her to the field. Not wanting to get in the way of medical personnel attending to her son, she stood by the ambulance that had driven to home plate, crying and feeling dizzy. The pitcher apologized. Umpire Greg Gibson propped her up, along with a member of stadium security, in case she fainted. She feared her son was dead.
About ten minutes later, Kerwin, 47, was lifted into the ambulance, and that’s when Mrs. Danley saw that his eyes had opened. She asked him his name. She’d seen that on TV. He said softly, “Kerwin Danley, ma. Oh mama, my head is killing me.”
“Lord have mercy,” said Mrs. Danley with a nervous laugh. “I was so thankful. That’s an experience I don’t want anyone to have to go through.”
But for families of umpires, scenes like this are unfortunately common.
Last year, MLB umpires sustained a total of 38 blows to the head. This year – just two months into the season – there have already been 20. These numbers are high, but the ratios are higher yet, when considering that there are only 68 Major League Umpires.
Mrs. Danley knew that her son was in a profession that posed a physical risk to him, following surgeries to his shoulder and foot to repair damage he incurred on the field. But head injuries are a different story.
“It’s alright today,” she said. “But when things like this happen, sometimes you don’t know what’s really going on yet.”
Sports organizations and media have been looking more seriously at the long-term effects of head injuries since the 2006 suicide of retired NFL player Andre Waters. After his death, neuropathologists examined his brain tissue, and discovered that the 44-year-old had the brain tissue of an 85-year-old. They correlated the deterioration – and his documented depression – with the multiple concussions Waters had received on the playing field.
In 2007, The Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina linked concussions with depression, cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease in a study of the retired NFL community that was published in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Giants catcher Mike Matheney’s early retirement in 2007 threw the spotlight on brain trauma in baseball after doctors would not clear the 36-year-old to play again after multiple concussions he received a year earlier. According to a recent USA Today article by Jorge Ortiz, more than a year later, Matheney continues to experience headaches, dizziness, and mild confusion at times.
For the moment, Mr. Danley is OK. The L.A.-area hospital he was taken to discharged him early Sunday morning, after his catscans came out clean. A few days later he is still suffering from headaches. Major League Baseball is monitoring him, and has not yet slated him to work any upcoming games.
“We are relieved that Kerwin is OK. That was an awful hit. Really, really scary. But, to be honest, that’s something that happens to our folks every week. Last month alone, four of our umpires had back and neck surgery because of hits to the head,” said Lamell McMorris, spokesman for the World Umpires Association, the union of Major League Umpires. “We’re hoping that all the coverage of this incident gives the public a sense of just how dangerous being a professional umpire is, and most importantly how vital it is that our folks are taken care of – not just today, but in the long term.”
As for Mrs. Danley, the incident certainly made her more aware of the danger of her son’s job. When he was released from the hospital, she took him to her nearby house in L.A., since he currently lives in Phoenix. At the direction of a nurse, she spent the night awake as he slept, peeking into his room to watch for danger signs of serious trauma – like tossing and turning or vomiting.
She is nervous to have him back on the field, but understands that this is her son’s profession – his passion. She’s excited to see him in action again in person and on TV.
“But let me tell you,” said Mrs. Danley, “from now on, I’ll be watching that ball as soon as it leaves the pitcher’s glove.”
About The World Umpires Association
The World Umpires Association represents all Major League Baseball Umpires. |
