Red Sox CF Mookie Betts hurt in tumble over OF wall that allows HR

BOSTON -- Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts left Tuesday night's game in the sixth inning after tumbling over the low bullpen retaining wall in center field while in pursuit of a long drive byChicago White Soxslugger Jose Abreu.

Betts was replaced immediately in center field by Rusney Castillo and headed directly to the Red Sox clubhouse. The team announced in the eighth inning that Betts was being evaluated for a possible concussion.

"He has symptoms consistent with a concussion," manager John Farrell said following the team's 9-4 loss. "He's being examined further right now. At the minimum, he'll have to go through the major league protocol to be cleared. Before stating exactly what he has, we've got to get some further information from the tests."

Betts, after a long run, reached out and grabbed Abreu's drive just in front of the Red Sox bullpen, then vaulted over the wall backward to avoid colliding with the structure. Upon impact with the ground, the ball was jarred loose.

"When they showed the replay, he goes over the wall, lands and hits the back of his head." Farrell said. "As he's coming in, he's starting to experience some light-headedness. He sat down, went through some field tests right there, and it was immediate to get him off the field and out of the game."

The umpires initially ruled a catch, which was challenged by the White Sox and ultimately overturned upon review. In the official Major League Baseball Rules, under the definition of a catch, it states:

"It is not a catch, however, if simultaneously or immediately following his contact with the ball, he collides with a player, or with a wall, or if he falls down, and as a result of such collision or falling, drops the ball. It is not a catch if a fielder touches a fly ball which then hits a member of the offensive team or an umpire and then is caught by another defensive player. If the fielder has made the catch and drops the ball while in the act of making a throw following the catch, the ball shall be adjudged to have been caught. In establishing the validity of the catch, the fielder shall hold the ball long enough to prove that he has complete control of the ball and that his release of the ball is voluntary and intentional."

"The replay shows the ball's dislodging," Farrell said. "He's got to hold onto the ball. That's a bottom line."

If Betts is deemed to have a concussion, the Red Sox could place him on the seven-day concussion disabled list.