Will Rhymes: Tampa Bay Rays 2nd Baseman Passes out After Being Hit by Pitch

Will Rhymes of the Tampa Bay Rays reminded us all that baseball can be just as dangerous as any other sport.

During Wednesday night's game against the Boston Red Sox, Rhymes was hit on the arm by a pitch from Franklin Morales.

Unfortunately, this was no ordinary HBP (via ESPN's Steve Berthiaume):

"

#Rays Will Rhymes has passed out on the field after being by a pitch in the arm.

— Steve Berthiaume (@SBerthiaumeESPN) May 17, 2012"

Apparently, Rhymes was hit so hard on the arm that it sounded like a bat was being broken. He somehow made it to first base before passing out, possibly from shock.

What This Means

We are far from knowing what exactly this means, but it is certainly odd how everything happened. For Rhymes to get hit and then make it to first base before passing out just isn't normal.

Shock, of course, is a logical explanation considering the time between the two incidents. 

This is a scary situation, and hopefully for Rhymes, he only passed out because of sheer pain and nothing worse.

What's Next

To see Rhymes collapse like he did was an incredibly scary incident. When someone goes down like that, sports are put into perspective, and they simply stop mattering.

How all of Rhymes' teammates, and even the Red Sox players at that, will continue to play after this scary play is beyond me. Sometimes, you just want to check on your friend and teammate instead of playing baseball.

This, unfortunately, is one of those times.

No further details are currently known about Rhymes' condition, so we just have to wait for updates from the Rays organization and hope that he is all right. 

We hope that Rhymes makes a speedy recovery, and we will continue to update you when we know more information.