Owww, That's Gonna Leave a Mark!

Nothing can make a man cringe more than see or hearing about another man getting hit in the groin. The crotch shot. Nad tap. Blow to the solar plexus. None are a pleasing thought to the male population.

In Wednesday nights game between the Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox, Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre fielded a one-hopper off with his groin. That in itself is bad enough, but to add insult to injury, Adrian does NOT wear a cup! That's right folks, he took a hard one to the nuts and as a result, received an injured testicle and possibly some internal bleeding. Beltre has been put on the 15-day DL and may miss the remainder of the season if the injury requires surgery.

I wonder if the air was sucked out of the stadium after Beltre was hit? You can picture 24,000 fans cringing and sucking air between their teeth. I remember attending an Indianapolis Indians game many years ago at Busch Stadium and seeing a Nashville Sounds player take a line drive to the crotch. Thankfully he had a cup, but it still took about five minutes before he could get up and a limp off the field.

Amazingly, Beltre finished the game after the injury, which occurred in the ninth inning and was won by the Mariners in the 14th. When told he was brave to have finished the game, Beltre stated, "I don't know about brave. Maybe stupid." Beltre has chosen not to wear a protective cup because he feels it impedes his movement and is uncomfortable. So how comfortable are you now, Adrian? I think I will take uncomfortable versus a swollen and possibly fractured testicle. Wouldn't you?