Rays player suffers a head injury after being hit by a warmup swing
The on-deck circle can be a very dangerous place because of foul balls, but it was a bat that injured the Rays’ Nick Franklin on Wednesday.
Franklin was on deck in the bottom of the first inning when he appeared to reach down to pick up something. Not realizing that Franklin was there, Kevin Kiermaier – the second batter in Tampa Bay's lineup – took a warmup swing in the same on-deck circle and hit Franklin with his follow-through.
After being examined by the Rays’ training staff, Franklin walked and scored on a homer by Brad Miller. However, Franklin was removed before the start of the second inning.
The Rays offered this update soon afterward:
#Rays INF Nick Franklin left today's game with a head contusion. He was removed as a precaution and for further observation.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 17, 2016
