Harper's face slam to the fence (slo-mo)

[scullydirt]

Check out the cap flying off and the whiplash. Hope they checked for internal injuries.

 

[Hawknigh]

He looked right at the wall but didn't seem to notice and adjust. It was almost like he thought he still had a yard or so to go. Hope he is alright.

 

[528646]

He looked right at the wall but didn't seem to notice and adjust. It was almost like he thought he still had a yard or so to go. Hope he is alright.

You have to wonder if the lights from that scoreboard could have been disorienting when he was up close and screwed up his depth perception. Either that or someone who has been playing their whole life and is used to have a good thick pad against the wall to bounce up against as a matter of habit...

 

[woodyk1]

This is a little better angle. How can he not feel the warning track?

 

[Hawknigh]

Before he hits the wall, he puts his bare hand out as if he doesn't even know where the ball is. It is almost like he thinks he is running more parallel to the wall.

 

[scullydirt]

This is a little better angle. How can he not feel the warning track?

He also had an opportunity to work out there in pre-game practice, so it shouldn't have been totally foreign territory along the scoreboard wall.

 

[woodyk1]

He also had an opportunity to work out there in pre-game practice, so it shouldn't have been totally foreign territory along the scoreboard wall.

Absolutely. I believe Dodger Stadium is where he made his pro debut last year as well. I agree with 528646 - he may have just gotten disoriented, but he should have felt the warning track.

 

[528646]

Another thing is if MLB OF's had the athleticism of the average HN poster, you would probably see this once or twice a night on Baseball Tonight. As it were, most MLB OF's are pretty damn good athletes, so we as fans become accustomed to seeing them handling the situation of running full speed at a wall and managing to avert a major collision with only a couple steps warning like it's easy/routine. It stands to reason that, given enough plays of this nature, pretty soon somebody is going to brain fart and end up knocked out.