Cameraman Hit in Head by Errant Throw at Yankees Game, Hospitalized

A cameraman working the Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees game suffered an injury Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium when he was hit in the head by a wild throw from Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson. Pete Stendel of YES Network was stuck by a throw by the rookie player who overthrew the first baseman as he tried to complete a double play in the fifth inning, per ESPN. YES said Stendel is conscious and underwent tests at a local hospital. 

“Every time that a ball goes over the first baseman or even a foul ball from the hitter, you don’t want to see it going towards a fan. It just happened to be in the wrong spot, and I hope he’s doing all right,” Henderson said after the game. “My prayers go out to him. I’m just thankful for the guys that rushed over there to him to help him.”  

The game was delayed for 17 minutes as the Yankee’s training staff medical personnel worked on Stendell who was then put on a stretcher and carted off the field. As the crowd applauded, Stendel raised two fingers to indicate he is okay. “Definitely praying for him. It was good to see him obviously coherent and obviously raising his hand going off [the field],” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But I saw it pretty well right away, and it was very scary. I didn’t see how he fell back, but I knew what could’ve been possible falling back, on top of the impact from the velocity of the ball hitting him. … Obviously, a difficult scene there, and just hoping he’s OK.”

After the game, Henderson was asked if he was shaken up from the incident. “I’m doing pretty fine. Yeah, it sucks that happened to him, but it’s just trying to play the game hard. Sometimes that happens,” he said. Once the game continued, the Orioles defeated the Yankees 6-3 to earn their 50th win of the season. They are currently in second place in the AL East and five games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the lead in the division. Baltimore is looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season. The Yankees are eight games behind the Rays for the AL East lead. They have reached postseason play every year since the 2017 season and have missed the playoffs just three times since 2010.