“I was screaming,” Harris said. “I ran over to check on him because I saw how he hit the wall.”
Bases were loaded and there were two outs in the sixth inning of a 4-0 game when Max Muncy lined Robert Suarez’s fastball toward the right-field wall. White leapt, made the grab and then smacked face first into the blue outfield padding. He remained on the ground for a moment but exited the field without any assistance.
“That's the type of player he is,” Harris said. “He just gives it his all every time he gets out there.”
White remained in the game for one more inning, but he was removed and placed on concussion protocol. His status will continue to be evaluated. But he was walking through the clubhouse after the game and preparing to take the team’s charter flight back to Atlanta.
“His head was pounding, that’s why we had to get him out of there,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said.
Bryce Elder was certainly appreciative of White’s effort. Elder had retired 14 straight batters before issuing three consecutive two-out walks in the sixth. His sudden loss of command prompted the entry of Suarez, who also breathed a sigh of relief when Muncy’s 107 mph liner resulted in an out.
“I was down in the dugout, so I couldn’t really see it,” Elder said. “I just heard everybody yelling. Then I heard him hit the wall. So, I knew he hit the wall hard. I didn't know if he robbed it or what. Then I went and watched the replay and it was special. To see him sacrifice himself like that means a lot.”