 07/16/2003 3:04 AM ET
Martinez OK after beaning
Mariners DH hit in helmet during second inning
• Box score
 Martinez beaned:
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CHICAGO -- Possibly playing in his final All-Star Game, Edgar Martinez of the Seattle
Mariners received the kind of sendoff he'd prefer not to experience.
At bat with two outs in the second inning of the American League's 7-6 victory Tuesday night,
Martinez was struck in his batting helmet by a 1-2 fastball from San Francisco's Jason Schmidt. It
was by far the scariest moment of the 74th Midsummer Classic.
Fortunately, Martinez avoided serious injury. The ball didn't hit him solidly, though the impact
of ball striking helmet resounded sickeningly throughout U.S. Cellular Field.
Edgar Martinez
/ DH
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"I have a slight headache, but it's nothing that I'm worried about," said the 40-year-old
designated hitter. "It glanced off of my helmet; it didn't hit me square on the side of the helmet. I
think if it would have hit me straight, it would have been different."
Martinez didn't ponder his close call immediately. "You think about it after it happens," he said.
He couldn't prevent it from happening, either. The hard-throwing Schmidt's pitch bore in on
Martinez, making it impossible to avoid.
"It's one of those pitches that you commit to the outside corner and it's coming up and in and
you have no way to get out," said Martinez, who struck out in his next two at-bats in his seventh
All-Star appearance.
The sight of Martinez rising and trotting to first base was a welcome one for everybody,
especially his Mariners teammates.
"That's the only thing we worry about in this kind of game -- injuries," Seattle reliever
Shigetoshi Hasegawa said.
Chris Haftis a reporter for MLB.com. This
story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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