Angels’ Torii Hunter says umpire’s injury ‘a scary situation’

Umpire Greg Gibson was knocked out of the Angels’ 8-4 win against Cleveland on Wednesday night after suffering a violent home-plate collision with Torii Hunter.

Hunter was sliding into home in the fifth inning and his left cleat caught Gibson near the left eye. Gibson had to leave the game. He received stitches and later visited a local hospital for precautionary X-rays.

After the game, Hunter said he knew that his foot hit Gibson as he slid into home, but he didn’t realize until afterward that it hit him in the face.

“I felt bad, you know,” said Hunter, who was called out on the play. “It’s a scary situation because when I kicked him, I wasn’t thinking that I had my rubber-bottoms on. Because some days I wear my spikes and some days I don’t, but I wasn’t thinking about that until after the play was over. If I had my spikes [on], he could’ve been missing an eye.”

Hunter said he spoke with Gibson before the umpire left the field and that he seemed OK.

“He was cracking jokes,” Hunter said. “He wanted to stay in. Just too much blood. Tough guy.”

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