Tokyo: Japanese baseball has adopted a rule to punish players for dangerous swings, as an umpire remains unconscious almost a month after being accidentally hit on the head by a bat.<\/p>\n
Umpire Takuto Kawakami was behind home plate during a game in Tokyo on April 16 when slugger Jose Osuna swung his bat, which flew out of his hands and struck the left side of Kawakami’s head.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old fell to the ground and was rushed to hospital, where he had emergency surgery and was placed in intensive care.<\/p>\n
Latest reports say he has still not regained consciousness and is undergoing treatment.<\/p>\n
Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on Monday approved a rule change to punish players if they swing their bats in a dangerous manner.<\/p>\n
Under the new rule, which comes into force on Tuesday, players will receive a warning if they make a dangerous swing but their bat does not hit anyone.<\/p>\n
They will be ejected from the game if they do it twice, or if they make a dangerous swing and their bat hits someone.<\/p>\n
A dangerous swing is defined as when a batter releases their bat mid-swing, including when it slips out of their hands.<\/p>\n
Venezuelan batter Osuna, who plays for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, apologised after his bat struck Kawakami.<\/p>\n
“I’m very sorry about what happened today when my bat hit the main umpire. I hope he’s well, I’m really sorry,” he wrote in a post on X soon after.<\/p>\n
Two days after the incident, NPB implemented a rule requiring all umpires to wear helmets.<\/p>\n
Kawakami was wearing a face protection mask and baseball cap, not a helmet.<\/p>\n
Umpires across Japan wore the number 29 on their helmets last week in solidarity with Kawakami.
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