During last night’s Major League Baseball broadcast on Apple TV Plus, a ground ball bounced off Los Angeles Dodgers player Enrique “Kiké” Hernández’s right hand and landed directly into his crotch department. That gave New York Yankees slugger Gleyber Torres enough time to get to first. Does this happen often? certainly. But Hernandez was being interviewed when the incident occurred.
When Torres hit the ball to third base, game announcer Dontrell Willis had just asked Hernandez, who was wearing a two-way microphone, about his team’s tight end. Hernandez ran for the ball, only to misjudge the way the ball would bounce. ESPN Asked after the game if the interview had anything to do with the mistake, Hernandez reportedly said: “Maybe a little bit,” he said, “but I think I let the ball eat me up. It had a weird jump.
Even if he did feel the base issues caused him to be hit in the groin by a hard pitch, Hernandez had no intention of turning down those in-game interviews — when asked after the game, he said, “No, because we’re getting paid Yes. The MLB Players Association’s collective agreement (PDF) states that players receive $10,000 per game and $15,000 in the postseason, and that money comes from the agreement between MLB and the association. United Fund.
