New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner needed six stitches to close a self-induced facial cut on Saturday, after he threw his helmet and it bounced back and hit him in the mouth.
Gardner threw the helmet at a wall in the dugout during the top of the sixth inning of Sunday’s loss to the Indians in Cleveland, and it came back right at him. Asked how badly it hurt, he told reporters, “Not as bad as getting the stitches put in.”
“I won’t throw my helmet again,” Gardner added.
The outfielder stayed in the game, finishing 0-for-4, before getting the stitches up the middle of his lip afterward. He does not have a hit in his last 19 at-bats. The Yankees have lost five of their last six games.
Gardner also told reporters it wasn’t the first time he’d faced friendly fire from his helmet, saying he got “a big goose egg” from a rebounding helmet after he threw it a few seasons ago in Minnesota.
The 35-year-old is batting .217 with eight homers and 21 RBIs this season.