When you think about it, it's probably not all that unusual to get the scare of your life in the batter's box. A hitter is literally there to have a baseball thrown at them. That is, quite literally, the whole ballgame.
The thing is, hitters are specifically desensitized to baseballs coming at them from a particular direction. Which is probably why Angels outfielder Wade Meckler was so unprepared to have his bat literally taken out of his hands by a throw from a catcher (more specifically, the Twins' Victor Caratini.)
But no harm, no foul, because although Meckler was understandably quite startled, it probably also immediately occurred to him how much worse it could have been for him and his hands.
Caratini, who did kindly return the bat, might have had the same thought -- not only did they both avoid a freak injury in what was a very tight game, but the bases were empty. At least on this occasion, such an incident would not yield any critical runs (because they certainly have in the past.)
Referencing the famous incident from the 2015 ALDS between the Blue Jays and Rangers in which Russell Martin's throw to Aaron Sanchez hit Shin-Soo Choo's bat and allowed a run to score, Twins manager Derek Shelton said he didn't think he had ever seen something like that live.
"Fortunately there was nobody on base, because it’s a live ball," Shelton said.
As it turns out, Caratini has been part of an incident like this before. In 2022, he hit Yankees utility man Marwin Gonzalez in the head with a throw back to the pitcher. Gonzalez had to exit the game but did not enter concussion protocol.
The Twins' catcher said he was a bit surprised he hit Meckler's bat with the ball this time.
"Yeah, [I was surprised] because he extended his arm right to the middle of home plate," Caratini said. "So that’s my spot [where I throw]. Hopefully nothing happened. He didn’t get hurt."