In the bottom of the first inning of today’s Phils/’Stros game, Carlos Lee swung at a 2-2 offering from Cole Hamels and his follow-through struck homeplate ump Jerry Crawford square in the domepiece. Crawford immediately left the game and was ambulanced over to Methodist Hospital in Houston for a CAT scan.

His injuries were minor, and the gutsy Crawford won’t let this mishap keep him from his umpiring duties for long.

“I’m going to work tomorrow night in Cleveland,” Crawford said. “I’m OK to fly. I saw a neurosurgeon at the Methodist Hospital here, and he gave me a clean bill of health.”

I’m assuming Jerry’s toughness can be directly attributed to his Philadelphia roots. Either that, or the metal umpire mask he wears.

Video of the incident can be found, as the kids say, after the jump…

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