Global Courant
NEW YORK — Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson and New York manager Aaron Boone spoke Thursday with Pete Stendel, the YES Network cameraman who suffered an orbital fracture when he was hit by Henderson’s errant pitch Wednesday night.
“I got a chance to connect with his wife and then connected with Pete as well,” Henderson said before the finale of a four-game series between the Orioles and Yankees. “He was in a good mood, just quite swollen at the moment. Everything was fine.”
Right next to the New York Yankees dugout on the first base side, Stendel was hit by a rushing throw from Henderson, who shot high to first base as he attempted to complete a double play in the fifth inning.
“Any time a ball goes over the first baseman or even a batter’s foul ball, you don’t want it going towards a fan. It was just in the wrong place and I hope he’s okay,” Henderson said after his team’s 6-3 win on Wednesday night. “My prayers go out to him. I’m just thankful for the guys who ran to help him.
The game was delayed approximately 17 minutes as the Yankees’ practice staff and medical personnel attended to Stendel on camera. Baltimore players came off the field and waited in their dugouts as Yankees and Orioles, including Henderson, watched with obvious concern in a hushed ballpark.
“Obviously he has the orbital fracture and swelling and that pressure and I’m sure there’s some pain, but I will say he sounded really good, in good spirits and hopefully he’s on the road to recovery now,” Boone said. “I’m glad he can rest at home. Obviously a very scary situation. I know I saw it in real time and it kind of scared me.
Stendel was strapped onto a stretcher and carted off the field, raising two fingers and wagging to loud applause from the 36,022 spectators as he was wheeled down the caution lane behind home plate.
“That was incredibly scary last night and hard to watch – the silence of the crowd said it all for a while,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “So good that he is doing much better. It’s nice that ‘Boonie’ and Gunnar approached him. Hopefully he recovers quickly.”
Henderson, who said he still felt shaken after Wednesday night’s game, said he felt some comfort after speaking with Stendel Thursday and was grateful to hear that Boone had reached out to Stendel as well.
“Glad everything was okay,” Henderson said. “He just held out his hand and said, ‘Don’t let it affect you in any way. Things happen.’
“Everyone reaches out to him — it was pretty cool to hear he had a support group behind him. I am glad that many people approached him.”
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