Ok, we’re sympathetic. Being hit with a baseball by a Major League pitcher is not fun. In fact, there are players who were never the same after being hit by a pitch. (Former infielder Charlie Hayes wore a face mask every time he stepped into the batter’s box after getting his jaw broken by a pitch!) But Tuesday night was a different story at Safeco Field…

A true fan favorite in Seattle, Alex Rodriguez, was hit by a Felix Hernandez change-up. As a result, A-Rod broke his hand.

For those of you who don’t follow baseball regularly, a changeup is a pitch that deceives the hitter; it is released from the pitcher’s arm as if it were a fastball (90 – 100 miles per hour), but actually quickly loses velocity and ends up being a relatively slow pitch (80 – 85 miles per hour).

This really wouldn’t be that funny big of a story, but because Mr. Rodriguez, who spent his first four years in the Majors with the Mariners, ditched Seattle back in 2000…the injury seems a little fitting, right? A-Rod was the dude who left the M’s to take $252 million over ten years from the last-place Rangers in the 2000 offseason.

Really, all we are trying to say here is: thanks for this picture, Alex.