A Most Distressing Video: Joe Martinez Takes Line Drive Off The Head

This is not the kind of thing that people wanted to see in the wake of the tragic Nick Adenhart accident. That was one brutal line drive.

But for the record, Giants' relief pitcher Joe Martinez seems relatively OK after taking this shot from the Brewers' Mike Cameron in the ninth inning. Martinez, a rookie who earned his first big league win on Tuesday, walked off the field under his own power, and was held in the hospital overnight for observation. He sustained a concussion but no broken bones, and said tests revealed no other significant injuries.

"I'm still shaking, to tell you the truth," catcher Bengie Molina said. "We're human beings before baseball players. We have fathers, mothers and sons. You don't want to see that on a baseball field. That ball went right to his head. He had no shot."

As you saw, Martinez actually got up after he was hit and began walking off the field, until trainers intercepted him and he sat down. That is one hard freakin' head. But what was really interesting was Cameron's reaction.

"I just wanted to come in and sit down," Cameron said. "That's the unfortunate part of playing this game. You see balls going into the stands and hit people. You see it on film. You just don't expect something like this to happen."

Martinez's teammates stood silent. Aaron Rowand covered his face with his glove. Randy Winn bowed his head. Some Giants comforted Cameron.

"He's got a big heart. We've always known that about him," Cain said of Cameron, who incurred a concussion and multiple facial fractures in an outfield collision with New York Mets teammate Carlos Beltran in 2005.

Update: He'll be hospitalized for observation for "three or four days," and is expected to make a full recovery.

A Win Doesn't Ease Pain Of Dreadful Day [San Francisco Chronicle]