There's bad luck, and then there's what Stephen Piscotty endured on Tuesday night. The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder simply wanted to do his job on Tuesday night by being responsible for run production against the Chicago Cubs. Nobody could have anticipated that his fifth inning was about to become one of the most bizarre - and scary - in recent baseball memory.
An eventful turn around the bases
It started innocently enough. Piscotty was in the batter's box with Cubs ace Jake Arrieta on the mound in the fifth inning. The pitch came up on his right elbow and hit him, though, leading the St.
Louis Cardinals outfielder to take his base. Unfortunate, but batters are hit by pitches all the time - nothing egregious or unusual about that.
Then, he saw an opportunity to steal second base. Cubs catcher Willson Contreras made the throw to second, but by sheer chance, it nailed the Cardinals outfielder in the left elbow. Piscotty looked more shocked than anything as the ball rolled away from him, but he eventually picked himself up and play went on.
Finally, a little dribbler had the potential to bring Piscotty home after the Cubs misplayed it in the field. Before he could reach the safety of the dugout again, however, he was hit in the head by a Javier Baez throw as he slid into home plate.
Immediately, a Cardinals trained ran on to check on the outfielder, who looked slightly dazed and confused. He headed towards the locker room shortly, ending one of the strangest sequences possible on a playing field.
Medical bills won't be a problem
Tuesday's fireworks come on the heels of a contract extension Piscotty signed with the Cardinals that will pay him handsomely for the next several years.
The six-year, $33.75 million extensions will keep one of the team's most promising players in the organization for the next several years. Hopefully, over the life of that deal, he'll learn to avoid the tiny white objects that fly around a baseball field and have the potential to cause some real contusions.
