Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
In the sixth inning of the Oakland Athletics‘ eventual 9-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, A’s catcher Derek Norris took a foul tip from Adrian Beltre to what can be best described as a ‘sensitive area’.
Norris remained on the ground, doubled over in pain for some time, prompting A’s manager Bob Melvin and the training staff to come out and eventually help the 24-year old catcher to the dugout. John Jaso, originally given the night off, came in at that point to relieve Norris.
After the game, Norris told A’s writer Susan Slusser that he had lost some feeling in his legs after absorbing the hard foul from Beltre, and that the pain had only subsided 30 minutes after the game. A durable catcher, Norris also mentioned that he’s taken many shots to that region of his body in his days behind the plate, but that Wednesday night’s incident was one of the most painful by far.
The A’s and Rangers finish a four-game series with a matinee game this afternoon, and Jaso is predictably once again in the lineup as Norris will get the entire day off to hopefully recuperate after taking that tough shot last night.
Should the A’s require an emergency catcher on Thursday (such as would be the case if Jaso gets hurt somehow), third baseman Josh Donaldson would presumably be looked at to strap on the gear and get behind the dish — but hopefully that situation doesn’t arise.
Adrian Garro is an Oakland Athletics writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter and/or add him to your network on Google.