PHILADELPHIA — In an instant, the lively Citizens Bank Park crowd was silenced. Not by a majestic home run, a rally-killing strikeout or another set of half-inning fireworks.
Rather, it was an errant sinker to Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero’s left hand that hushed the 43,916 who filled the ballpark on Tuesday night for the All-Star Game.
Facing St. Louis Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien in the third inning, a 97.7 mph pitch that was supposed to go down instead stayed up, nailing Caminero’s hand and causing him to crumple to the dirt near home plate.
“I felt a little scared,” Caminero said afterward. “In that moment, you’re thinking the worst.”
As Caminero grimaced in pain — holding his hand and fearing a potential break — a trainer, along with American League manager John Schneider rushed to the field. Caminero gathered himself and went down the steps of the visitors’ dugout to get X-rays, which were negative.
“That’s the last thing anyone wants to see, whether you are here or sitting at home,” Schneider said.
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As managers in the Midsummer Classic, Schneider and Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts aren’t just responsible for managing egos and setting lineups, they also have a responsibility to baseball’s 28 other managers to return their players in one piece.
“I shot Kevin Cash a text right after that happened, and he was appreciative of that,” Schneider said, referencing his managerial counterpart with the Rays.
Consider the moment a microcosm of a larger trend at the 96th edition of the All-Star Game, a contest in which multiple starting pitchers were unavailable in the lead-up and even at the game itself.
After Cristopher Sánchez allowed three runs in his lone inning of work, Roberts was on the backfoot as he tried to navigate the night ahead — beginning with O’Brien.
“I think it just got away from him, and trying to line pitching up for the All-Star Game when you’ve got starters that are starters and coming out of the pen or relievers that are used to going later in the game,” Roberts said.
A closer by trade, O’Brien is used to appearing late. Instead, he was called early.
“It’s never easy for a guy who is pitching late to pitch early and things like that,” Roberts said.
“I felt a little scared,” Junior Caminero said after he was hit by a pitch in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. “In that moment, you’re thinking the worst.”
Caminero, who has appeared in every one of the Rays’ 94 games, just turned 23 years old earlier this month. His 28 home runs rank fourth in all of baseball.
“It hurt a lot,” he said. “A sinker on the hands. It didn’t hit the bat.”
With Caminero downstairs, Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas was inserted as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement.
Play resumed, and eventually, a tribute to “The Sandlot” and a late homer from Vargas, provided theater for a game that sorely lacked it. However, the visual of Caminero on the ground in a no-frills exhibition stuck with those on the field who witnessed it.
“It’s something that happens,” said the Atlanta Braves’ Drake Baldwin, who was the catcher at the time. “I know (Riley) O’Brien did not try to do that at all. We weren’t, by any means, trying to hit him.
“We’re just playing baseball, and sometimes stuff like that happens. But we’re happy that he’s okay, and the (X-ray) results were good.”
After O’Brien escaped the inning, he immediately went to apologize to Caminero.
“I went to go check on him, and made sure he was all good,” O’Brien said. “He was very understanding.”
Caminero, sporting a small bandage, emphasized that there was no ill will between the two.
“I told him, ‘It’s part of the game,’” Caminero said.