DETROIT — After plate umpire Quinn Wolcott was struck in the shoulder by a fastball from a Detroit Tigers pitcher during a baseball game this week, Major League Baseball is reviewing the incident.
The pitch from Buck Farmer went past the mitt of backup catcher John Hicks when it hit Wolcott in the game against the Cleveland Indians, the Associated Press reports. Two batters prior, the ump had ejected another catcher and manager Brad Ausmus after a close pitch to Cleveland's Jay Bruce.
The MLB is looking into circumstances around the strike. Wolcott was knocked over by it and questioned whether it happened on purpose.
The Tigers had bickered with the umpire throughout the game prior to the hit, the AP reports.
Detroit lost the game 5-3.
Ausmus said in an interview that if any player struck an umpire intentionally he would "deal with that very severely."
